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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22504360">all my stars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/youareoldfatherwilliam/pseuds/youareoldfatherwilliam'>youareoldfatherwilliam</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Crack, Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Humor, May or may not be canon compliant, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zutara Month 2020, depending on the drabble</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 18:35:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22504360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/youareoldfatherwilliam/pseuds/youareoldfatherwilliam</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of little fics/drabbles for Zutara Month 2020.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>145</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. the blue spirit and the painted lady</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my very first time participating in Zutara Month, and I'm super excited! XD</p><p>Some things to note- right now, the chapter count is 29; that may change, depending on whether I can get all the prompts done or not.  Additionally, the rating is currently teen; that may also change, situationally.  We'll see lol, I'm making this up as I go. </p><p>The title of this fic is from that super well-known quote by E.E. Cummings- I won't bother to write it here, because I'm pretty sure most people know it, lol.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This first one is.... something.  </p><p>*cringes*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This is, without a doubt, certainly not the first time in his life that he’s been terribly wrong.</p><p>It is, however, the first time that he’s felt such a burning desire to simply lay down and die.</p><p>Not that the first two-thirds of the play hadn’t been bad, because they certainly had been. Zuko isn’t exactly surprised; he knows, better than anyone else here, what the Ember Island Players are like. He’s not surprised, really, that they’ve managed to get everything so horridly wrong.</p><p>But in retrospect, he should probably have anticipated that the third part of the play would be <em>so much worse</em>.</p><p>He’s not sure, himself, exactly what his new companions <em>(friends,</em> his mind whispers, <em>friends and family</em>) were up to, in the time between the fall of Ba Sing Se and the Day of Black Sun; though he imagines that it was just preparations, for the war. But somehow, despite his already-low expectations for the play, he’d managed to forget that Pu-on Tim wouldn’t know, either.</p><p>Certainly, he can predict how it will <em>end;</em> this is a Fire Nation play, after all, and Sozin’s comet is rapidly approaching.</p><p>But he’d forgotten, really, that they’ve got to fill the time in between <em>somehow.</em></p><p>So of course, he’s barely managed to get past an awful imagining of Actor-Aang leading a group of Fire Nation school children in a wild cave dance (there’s no possible way that happened, right?) when the scene changes again, to a badly set-up woods.</p><p>He watches, in barely-contained horror, as Actor-Katara walks on stage, except her get-up is… somehow worse.</p><p>Instead of her woefully inaccurate blue costume of before, she’s now dressed in a sheer, flowing red robe, a wide-brimmed straw hat with a translucent veil, and has swirls of red paint all over her body.</p><p>It takes him a moment to realize that she’s supposed to be the Painted Lady.</p><p>(Especially since, he’s certain, that the Painted Lady of the legend is supposed to have more covering her modesty than strategically-placed whorls of paint, a sheer robe that’s really doing nothing, <em>at all</em>, and silken white under-garments that can be seen quite clearly through said useless robe.)</p><p>He can’t help the way that his cheeks heat.</p><p>It’s at this moment that Katara herself comes back from wherever she and Aang absconded to, during the last intermission. He glances at her to see her reaction to whatever <em>this</em> is, and does a double take.</p><p>Her face is blotchy, red; and she’s hugging herself, as though she’s fighting back tears. Alarmed, he glances around for Aang; but the Avatar is nowhere to be seen.</p><p>He’s about to ask her what’s wrong (he doesn’t know <em>how</em> he knows, but he does), when she catches sight of the… abomination, on stage, and her eyes widen, and her mouth drops open.</p><p>Instantly, her face turns even redder.</p><p>Actor-Katara-as-the-Painted-Lady interrupts his thoughts, bringing his attention back to the front of the theatre as she begins to monologue. “My love! Wherefore art thou?”</p><p>Someone shakes two fake tree branches together from offstage, and Actor-Blue-Spirit jumps out on the stage.</p><p>Except, it’s a different actor from before.</p><p>Where beforehand, the mask completely hid the features of the person underneath, this Blue Spirit has long, flowing black hair, peeking out from behind his (ridiculously-oversized) mask.</p><p>Against his will, Zuko feels his face heat even further.</p><p>Actor-Zuko-as-the-Blue-Spirit (there is no one else it could possibly be, with that hair, <em>seriously,</em> what happened to the original actor??) waves his swords around wildly, before throwing them off to the side and approaching Actor-Painted-Lady.</p><p>The woman begins to monologue again. “My love! I have done as the Avatar bid me, and destroyed a town full of wretches. It gave me so much hope! I am free now, and have come to find you!”</p><p>Actor-Blue-Spirit doesn’t say anything, but apparently, it’s some sort of cue, because he pulls the woman towards him, clutching her in what is clearly a passionate embrace.</p><p>
  <em>Oh, Agni…</em>
</p><p>He risks another glance at Katara, and finds wide blue eyes looking back at him.</p><p>Her cheeks are still a brilliant shade of crimson, and her mouth is still open, all traces of her previous upset gone, and it’s all that he can do not to instantly drop dead on the spot.</p><p>This is, perhaps, the most inconvenient time for his brain to remind him that Katara is stunningly beautiful.</p><p>He forces himself to look back at the stage, and instantly wishes that he hadn’t. Because <em>somehow,</em> in the three seconds that he was looking at Katara, Actor-Blue-Spirit has managed to lose his shirt (but the overly-large mask is still on him).</p><p>Behind him, he hears Sokka let out some sort of wheezing noise, and Suki lets out a muffled cough. Toph, on Katara’s other side, is suspiciously quieter-than-normal; though he can faintly hear near-silent snickering.  But, he can’t pay attention to them, right now.</p><p>Actor-Painted-Lady lets out a very loud gasp, and in the next two seconds, manages to lose her entirely-useless sheer robe.</p><p>(But her straw hat-and-veil remains. It’s a wonder, really, that it hasn’t fallen off yet.</p><p>And thankfully, her white under-garments also stay firmly in their place.)</p><p>He’s feeling a sudden, strong rush of gratefulness that Toph is blind, because he’s quite certain that children her age shouldn’t be seeing this; and thankfully, Aang isn’t back yet, either. Honestly, he’s not entirely certain that <em>he</em> should be watching this.</p><p>Next to him, a noise is heard that sounds somewhat akin to a dying tortoise-whale. He looks at Katara, and-</p><p>Considering the way that her hand is reaching graspingly towards her empty hip, while her eyes bulge out of their sockets, it’s probably a good thing that she was forced to leave her water-skin behind.</p><p>Actor-Painted-Lady lets out another gasp, and begins running her hands over her fellow actor’s very fine chest, even as the guy <em>still</em> says nothing, and that’s <em>it,</em> that’s his breaking point.</p><p>As the actors begin to move towards a conveniently-placed fake bush, with Actor-Painted-Lady making increasingly loud-and-slightly-painful-sounding noises, Zuko steels his nerves, and gently touches Katara’s hand.</p><p>He makes sure that his expression is as blank as possible, even though he knows, without a doubt, that his face is still very, very, red. “Don’t look at them”.</p><p>Her face, equally red, turns toward him, though her eyes are still fixed upon the horror in front of them. “What?”</p><p>He swallows, hoping that he’s not making a mistake; they’ve only recently become friends, after all, and he doesn’t want to jeopardize that, but- “Look at me. Don’t look at them. Ignore… that”.</p><p>The corners of her lips twitch up at the barely-disguised revulsion in his voice at their actors, but her fingers thread through his own, and her eyes settle on him, and-</p><p><em>Oh,</em> he did not think this through, because now he can’t look away from the brilliant sea of blue that he finds himself faced with, and his heart suddenly starts beating even faster.</p><p>She doesn't look away either, though; so, they stay like that, until <em>thank Agni</em>, the scene changes, to… Actor-Sokka dragging a giant rock up a hill?</p><p>(He's beginning to wonder if Pu-on Tim was smoking happy-plant, when this play was written.)</p><p>He only realizes that he’s <em>still</em> holding her hand when Real-Sokka lets out an excited squeal behind them.</p><p>He lets go, quickly, and she does the same, coughing into her arm. Her eyes, though, don’t leave his yet, and she gives him a little smile. He’s pleased to note, too, that whatever upset her earlier has completely vanished from her countenance; gone are the barely-there tears.</p><p>(He thinks that he'll still make sure that she's alright later, just in case- but for now, he'll let it be.)</p><p>Abruptly, he realizes that her smile is doing funny things to his heart- it feels a bit on the verge of giving out, from how fast it’s beating; but he finds himself strangely alright with that prospect.</p><p>He smiles at her in return.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This is... crack-y in the worst way possible. I have no excuse.  I do not know what I am doing.  Send help.  </p><p>For the parts of this drabble that don’t make sense… I’m going to hide behind the flimsy shield that nothing about EIP made sense, so therefore logic is invalid. And for the purposes of preserving everyone's sanity, nothing <em>actually</em> happened, with the actors on stage.  They just... moved behind a fake bush, made some vaguely disturbing noises, and then the scene cut.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. momtara and dadko</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is set in an AU where Zuko did join the Gaang in Ba Sing Se- instead of firing the flames at Aang &amp; Katara, he fires them at Azula.  Aang's still injured, and whatnot, but yeah.  </p><p>This is, however, from the POV of a background character.  It's the Headmaster, from the Headband episode.  Since we never got the guy's name, I've given him one, here.  Also, do be warned that he expresses some... rather racist thoughts, towards the Water Tribes, which I'm going to say here, are <em>not</em> my own, at all.</p><p>Basically, I took the headband episode, and replaced Wang and Sapphire Fire with Momtara and Dadko *shrugs*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Headmaster Wu stares at the couple in front of him with distaste.</p><p>He wonders if perhaps he shouldn’t be surprised, considering how wild their son is, and <em>apparently,</em> they’re from the colonies too; but <em>really,</em> this is the Fire Nation. The homeland. They should know better than to flaunt their… strangeness.</p><p>The man isn’t so bad, Wu supposes. At least, he’s very obviously of full Fire Nation blood; couldn’t be anything else, not with such richly golden eyes, silken black hair, and pale skin. Really, when Wu thinks about it, he almost looks as though he could pass for one of the noble families.</p><p>But of course, he’s nothing more than a commoner; couldn’t be anything else, coming from the colonies. Maybe a soldier, what with the bandaging covering his left eye, one that’s obviously hiding some sort of bad injury.</p><p>Either way, though, he’s still nothing special.</p><p>His wife, however, is much stranger. The woman’s skin is far darker than her husband’s, her curly hair is barely contained in its hairstyle, and her eyes are <em>blue,</em> of all things.</p><p>If Wu didn’t know better, he’d think that the woman was Water Tribe; but of course, he knows better. There aren’t any Northerners who would dare to come this far south, into the heart of the Fire Nation, and everyone knows that the Southern Tribe has been mostly eliminated.</p><p>Besides, she can’t be Water Tribe. Everyone knows that the Water Tribes are uncouth, uncivilized, illiterate savages; and as much as this woman is <em>strange,</em> she’s not a savage.</p><p>She <em>is</em> young, though. Both are, really, and it makes him scoff (internally, of course).</p><p>No wonder their son has turned into such a troublemaker. <em>Young people, these days</em>.</p><p>But, he’s not here to remark about this odd couple; he’s here to inform them of their son’s misbehavior. So, he clears his throat, and puts on his best dealing-with-parents face. “Thank you for coming, Mister and Missus…”</p><p>“Lee!” The man blurts it out, and his voice is even higher than expected; it throws Wu for a loop. “Um, Lee. Just Lee”. He gives his wife a look that’s clearly supposed to convey something, but Wu doesn’t particularly care what it is.</p><p>He informs them of their son’s wrongdoings; predictably, the mother lets out a gasp. “My goodness! That doesn’t sound like our Kuzon”.</p><p>He barely manages to resist rolling his eyes; but her placating response means little to him. If their child continues to act up (and he <em>will,</em> Wu’s sure of it, he knows this boy’s type, a wild brat to the bone), then he’ll send the boy to the mines. Troublemakers have no place, here in his prestigious institution.</p><p>When he tells them this, the father gives him a firm nod, and all three of them stand. As they leave, the man bows to him, in formal Fire Nation style; it takes Wu aback, a bit. Perhaps, the man does have some noble breeding after all; his posture is far too perfect, for anything else.</p><p>Not that it matters, though. Whatever his parentage, he's still obviously a nobody. </p><p>The man straightens out of his bow and turns to follow his wife and son, wrapping an arm around his wife’s waist. She whispers something to him; he kisses her cheek in response.</p><p>Wu resists the urge to vomit. <em>Young love. So idiotic</em>.</p><p>He’s almost hoping that their boy doesn’t misbehave again, if only so that he <em>never</em> needs to see this couple, again.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I think I've made this guy even more dick-ish than he was in the episode itself.  Oops.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. season 4 zutara</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one is also set in a canon-divergent AU, where basically Zuko and Katara kissed after the Agni Kai, and the whole Kataang/Maiko bits afterwards never happened.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s not that Katara <em>doesn’t</em> want to go home.</p><p>Because she does, of course. There aren’t enough words to describe how much she’s missed the feel of ice and snow around her, the comfort of waking up to a blue-and-white world, the crispness of a polar wind.</p><p>And her family, of course; she misses Gran-gran especially, and the rest of her village.</p><p>But… she’s found a new family, too, and she doesn’t want to leave them. Not to mention that the world is so <em>big,</em> so much larger than anything she’d ever known before she broke open an iceberg and found the savior of the world, hidden inside.</p><p>A lot of truths about her world have been broken open, since then; reshaped and reformed into something new.</p><p>Suffice to say, she’s decidedly conflicted.</p><p>And it’s as she’s standing on one of the balconies of the Fire Nation Royal Palace, staring out at the Caldera (it really is a shock, how <em>beautiful</em> the Fire Nation is), that one of her main sources of conflict comes to join her, looking more awkward than a baby turtle-duck.</p><p>She peers up at him, wondering if he’s going to say something; but he’s staring at a point above her head, blushing a brilliant shade of red.</p><p>Really, he’s going to be the <em>Fire Lord</em> now; he’s going to have to get better at interpersonal conversations.</p><p>Though, in all honesty, she can’t really blame him; she feels her own cheeks heat, too.</p><p>Because she knows, that they’re both remembering the same thing, and wondering what on earth they’re going to do about <em>it.</em></p><p>She's tried not to obsess over it, but she can't forget, and well-</p><p>(Azula was screaming, finally cracked, and above them the sky was split into shades of red and orange and gold, but all she could focus on was the boy lying broken, underneath her.</p><p>All she could focus on was forcing his heart to beat; the push and pull of the blood underneath her, begging him to <em>live.</em></p><p>And then, all she could focus on was the feel of his lips on her, because he lived, he <em>did,</em> and it was the only thing she could think of to do.</p><p>The only way she knew how to say <em>thank you</em>, in that moment; but at the same time, so much more, too.)</p><p>It’s only been two days since then, and they haven’t quite spoken properly since; too busy, with <em>everything.</em> But now, they’re both here, and she knows that they’ll have to address it, only she’s not sure <em>how.</em></p><p>In the end, Zuko’s the one who cracks first. “Um. How are you?”</p><p>She forces down a snort. “Fine. How’s your wound?”</p><p>“Good – um, that is, it’s healing great, the doctor says”. He looks at her, earnestly. “Thank you, again”.</p><p>She feels a curl of guilt in her stomach- <em>no, don’t, you never would have been hurt if not for me</em> –but makes herself smile. She tries, hastily, to change the subject. “Did you need something?”</p><p>A single black eyebrow raises, but he responds. “Um. Yeah”. A hand comes up to scratch at the back of his neck, and she turns to face him more fully; whatever it is, it’s clearly making him uncomfortable. “I guess I was just wondering. What are you going to do now?”</p><p>“I don’t know”. She suppresses the urge to look back at the city, feels herself sigh. “I don’t- I don’t know what I want”.</p><p>He blows out a breath. “You want to go home, right?”</p><p>She nods. “Of course, I do. I miss my home, a lot. But I also… don’t. The world is huge. I want to help my people rebuild. I must. But I also want to help the world; see it all, do it all”. She doesn’t look away from him, and he knows that he can see all the unspoken words that she can’t say; the things that she’s not sure <em>how</em> to say.</p><p>Zuko doesn’t look surprised at all, though a flicker of <em>something</em> passes through his eyes. “I. Um. It’s not my place to tell you what to do. But… I think that you should… if you want to... maybe go home?”</p><p>She raises an eyebrow, trying not to get upset, even as she feels anger and sadness war for control within her. “Oh?”</p><p>“Yes”. He looks away, briefly. “I know what it’s like, to miss a place so badly that it hurts”.</p><p>Her anger softens then, as she reaches out a hand. “Zuko…”</p><p>“Your people need you”. He looks at her again, steadily. “But. It's your choice, of course! I would never force-Um. Yeah. I also…”</p><p>She steps a little closer, feeling her lips curl upwards; their chests are almost touching, now. It sends a thrill of exhilaration, through her. “Yes? What about you?”</p><p>“I…” He moves then, suddenly, presses his forehead against hers, and picks her hand up, placing it against the bandages on his chest. “Whenever you’re ready, whenever you want it, if you want it… there’s a position open here in the Fire Nation, for the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador. It would require a lot of travel to a lot of places. Including here. And umm… present the opportunity for a lot of political change. And influence”.</p><p>He’s close enough that she can feel his breath; feel his heart beating; all the things that they’re leaving unsaid, that they can’t say yet, but both know that they feel. She smiles up at him. “I’m only fifteen, Zuko”.</p><p>He gives a breathy laugh. “And I’m only sixteen, but I’m about to rule an entire country. Normal rules don’t apply here, Katara”.</p><p>He’s not wrong, really, and it gives her the courage to lean up; close the distance between them, and press her mouth against his. He’s warm, and his lips are soft, and-</p><p>Even though her future is entirely uncertain; right now, it feels a bit like coming home.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, Katara is 15 here.  It just seemed to work better than 14? Lol</p><p>If you're of legal drinking age in your country, re-read this and do a shot every time Zuko says 'um'.  If not, uh... eat a cookie instead? </p><p>And, I will push for Ambassador/Politician Katara with my dying breath.  That is all.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. don't hurt him</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This takes place in the same AU as chapter 2- that is, where Zuko joined the Gaang after Ba Sing Se.  It's immediately after the city falls, as they've fled it.  So, end of Book 2.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At first, Katara almost doesn’t register the commotion.</p><p>It’s been so long since she’s seen her father; since she’s seen the warriors of the Southern Water Tribe. And while there’s a part of her that’s completely overjoyed, at their presence, most of her is internally trying not to panic.</p><p>Aang <em>died.</em> He was in her arms, and he died, and the only reason that he’s even alive right now is because of the Spirit Water.</p><p>Aang still hasn’t woken up; and she’s so intent on getting him to the healer’s tent, getting him someplace that he can rest, that she almost misses the steadily increasing murmur behind her.</p><p>She looks at Sokka, who’s helping her to carry Aang, and they both turn around to find- <em>oh.</em></p><p>It’s not as though she’d <em>forgotten</em> that they’d picked up a new member, in the caverns beneath Ba Sing Se, but Zuko’s been so quiet ever since he joined them, huddled in on himself in a corner of Appa’s saddle while she worked desperately to heal the Avatar.</p><p>(Not that she can really blame him; after all, they’d had to leave his Uncle behind, and she can’t imagine how he must be feeling.)</p><p>But she’d forgotten, in the madness of everything, that while she and Toph and Sokka have had time to get used to the prince’s presence (and Appa, especially, seems rather taken with him, though she’s not sure why), the rest of her tribe, her people, certainly have not.</p><p>And the rest of her people, after years of war and suffering, have become experts at recognizing <em>the enemy</em> on sight.</p><p>Either way, Zuko is currently backed against Appa, not moving, even as he’s surrounded by a steadily growing circle of Water Tribe warriors.</p><p><em>Angry</em> Water Tribe Warriors.</p><p>Toph is next to him, gripping his hand for some reason. But for once, the blind girl is quiet; because even Toph recognizes the gravity of the situation, evidently. Toph is a nobody to them; none of her talk will make them stand down, and even if she bends them all away, it won’t solve anything.</p><p>She looks at Sokka frantically- he raises an eyebrow, as if to say <em>what are we going to do</em>? And that’s-</p><p>Zuko’s only just joined them, and while she can’t say that she fully likes the prince, yet, she does trust him. He’d had his chance, to help his sister capture Aang in the catacombs; but he’d chosen to help them, instead. And he’d lost his uncle for it.</p><p>She remembers, too, whatever tentative bond they’d formed in the catacombs, right before Aang and the others had interrupted them.</p><p>Not to mention the fact that even aside from all of that, Aang needs a firebending teacher when he wakes up (because he <em>will</em> wake up, she’ll make sure of it).</p><p>Either way, all that means that she can’t, <em>won’t</em> let him get torn to shreds by a people who admittedly have no reason to like him, but whom she can’t let hurt him, anyways.</p><p>So, she leaves the Avatar safely in her brother’s arms, and <em>runs.</em></p><p>She barely makes it in time, too, because Tuloq has his club raised and he’s advancing on the silent prince.</p><p>She dives in between them and holds her hands up, desperately. “Wait! Don’t hurt him!”</p><p>Around her, the warriors growl; Tuloq gives her a scathing look. “Out of the way, little girl. This doesn’t concern you”.</p><p>She juts out her chin. “You’re about to murder my friend. That means it concerns me”.</p><p>“Friend?” The laughter is mocking, incredulous. “Look at those eyes! Firebenders aren’t friends. And especially not <em>this one</em>”.</p><p>Behind her, she can hear Zuko suck in an audible breath; but he still doesn’t speak. It’s obvious that he won’t defend himself, for whatever reason, and well-</p><p>She summons a massive wave from the ocean of Chameleon Bay behind them, and holds it threateningly over the heads of all her tribesmen. “Don’t make me say it again”.</p><p>“What is going on here?!”</p><p>She’s never been more relieved to hear her father’s voice, as he cuts through the circle. Sokka is trailing behind him, Aang nowhere to be found; her brother must have gotten their friend to safety. She wants to hug her father, as his eyes land on her and immediately gentle; but right now, she can’t back down. “I won’t let them hurt him!”</p><p>Her father peers behind her, and she can see the moment that he makes the connection, to just <em>who</em> has been brought into his camp. His eyes narrow, before circling to her, the water-wave, Toph and Appa, and back to the prince.</p><p>No one dares to breathe.</p><p>Eventually, the corners of her father’s eyes soften, and he turns to his men. “Stand down”.</p><p>Tuloq sputters. “But chief!! That’s-”</p><p>“I know who he is”. Even though her father’s eyes are no longer hard, his voice is firm. “Stand down”. He looks at her with a twinkle in his eyes. “That goes for you too, Master Waterbender”.</p><p>It takes some grumbling, but the men do disperse, though not without casting Zuko final, suspicious looks, as she sends the wave back where it belongs. For his part, the prince barely seems to have relaxed at all; his eyes are fixed on the ground, and it’s only when her father clears his throat that he speaks. “Um. Hi. Zuko, here”.</p><p>Her father snorts out a laugh. “Here you are, indeed”. Then he looks at her, and opens his arms, and well-</p><p>Later, after she’s hugged her father at least five more times and performed almost twice as many healing sessions on Aang, she moves to find the prince. He’s been assigned to share a tent with Sokka, which neither of the boys looked very happy about, but it means that he’s easy to locate. When she pushes back the flap, he’s sitting up in his sleeping roll, looking morosely down at two flames in his palms, while her brother snores next to him.</p><p>When he sees her, though, the flames vanish. “Katara. Hi”.</p><p>“Hi”. She coughs, to clear the awkwardness. “How are you?”</p><p>“I- fine”. He blinks, looks away, before golden eyes resettle on her own. “Thank you. For earlier”.</p><p>“You’re welcome”. She smiles, and maybe it’s her imagination, but a hint of red tinges his cheeks. It reminds her, though. “And I didn’t get to say it earlier, but thank you, Zuko. And I’m sorry”.</p><p>A single eyebrow raises. “For what?”</p><p>“For helping us, against Azula”. She makes sure to hold his gaze. “You didn’t have to. And I’m sorry, that I couldn’t heal your scar… and that your uncle got captured, too”.</p><p>At the last two, his hand comes up to cover his eye, and he looks away. “It’s fine. About the scar, really. And uncle will…”</p><p>He trails off, and she places a hand on his shoulder. It startles him into looking back at her, with wide eyes. “We’ll get him back, Zuko. Together. I promise”.</p><p>He exhales slowly, and gives her the closest thing that she’s ever seen to a real smile, from him. “Thank you, Katara”.</p><p>When she falls asleep that night, she’s still worried for Aang, scared for what’s to come, and crushed by the fall of Ba Sing Se; but even despite <em>everything-</em></p><p>There’s a tiny flicker of warmth in her chest.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I guess this is more pre-Zutara lol, but oh well. As for why Zuko's so quiet when being threatened- well, he's kind of in shock.  Uncle's just been captured and he's just decided to switch sides.  Poor kid is processing.  And also not sure if it's a good idea for him to even attack/defend.  </p><p>As for where Kuei is during all this? *shrugs* he and Bosco wandered off.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. southern water tribe culture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This takes place in a... canon-divergent future, I guess?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko stares at the bowl in front of him and barely resists the urge to vomit. “You’ve got to be kidding me”.</p><p>Next to him, his fiancée gives him a smile that looks more like a grimace. “It’s tradition, Zuko”.</p><p>“But it’s <em>moving”.</em></p><p>“So?” She picks up one of the <em>things</em> and shoves it in her mouth, swallowing it whole. She can’t hide her tiny shudder from him, though. “Just do it”.</p><p>“I can tell that you don’t like it either”.</p><p>“No”. She at least has the decency not to try and disguise that fact, even as she picks up another one. “But you do want to marry me, don’t you? It’s tradition in the Southern Water Tribe for the bride and groom to eat squid-oysters on the night before they’re wed”.</p><p>He glares at her, then moves in close so that he can kiss her, hard. When he pulls back, he speaks softly against her lips, barely audible. “That’s a dirty trick”.</p><p>She grins up at him, though he’s pleased to note that her cheeks are flushed. “Yup! Is it working?”</p><p>He rolls his eyes, and looks back down at his bowl. “Are they… alive?”</p><p>“No”. She pokes at one of them with her fingers, before picking it up. “Gran-gran said that it’s something to do with the salt that’s sprinkled on top of them, that makes the muscles still twitch”.</p><p>She holds it up insistently against his lips, and he grimaces, but allows his mouth to open. The creature <em>squirms</em> in his mouth, and he nearly chokes, before swallowing it down as quickly as possible.</p><p>Katara's smile grows wider, and around them, there are cheers and laughter from the rest of the gathered Water Tribe as the feast continues, the night before their wedding.</p><p>(Their first wedding, at least; because they’ll be married here in the South Pole, according to Water Tribe traditions, and then they’ll be married again, in the Fire Nation, and Katara will be crowned the Fire Lady.</p><p>It's a lot of procedure; but, either way, he just wants to marry her.)</p><p>He puts on his best smile, even as his stomach turns, and leans in closer to her, speaking extra-quietly, so that only she can hear. “Can I get away with not eating the rest?”</p><p>“Nope”. Her voice is equally quiet. “But the faster you eat them, the faster we can go back to our tent”.</p><p>He can’t help but raise his eyebrow. “We have separate tents. It's tradition, isn't it?”</p><p>The smirk that she gives him is enough to make him lift another of the squid-oysters to his mouth.  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The idea for the squid-oysters is taken from that one Japanese dish, dancing squid (I think it’s called odori don?  Someone please correct me if I’m wrong).  Where soy sauce is poured on top the squid, and it “dances” because of the whole sodium + dead muscles science.  I just used oysters as a combination animal because, well, raw oysters are usually eaten alive (I think? I’ve never actually had an oyster) and this is Avatar.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. power couple</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is set in the same universe as Chapter 2, again, and it's a bit of a... sequel to that one? Lol.  Also, do be warned again, for some racism by the same character.  I think that it's physically impossible for me to not write this guy as a major douchebag.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Headmaster Wu isn’t entirely sure of how to feel about what’s happening.</p><p>It’s not every day, after all, that one hears that the Fire Lord and Lady are going to be passing through one’s town.</p><p>Under the rule of the newest Fire Lord, common people have had more of- a voice. Their cries have been answered. Social, economic, and political change has come to the Fire Nation, and for the most part, it’s been welcomed.</p><p>He’s been on the throne for only five years, and yet Fire Lord Zuko is already more popular than his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather combined.</p><p>Personally, Wu doesn’t think that he likes the new ruler, very much. After all, no matter how much the peasantry might love him, it’s hard to ignore the fact that the war ended, under this boy-king. That under him, so many of the ancient ways, the things that the Fire Nation had learned about other nations and themselves, were now considered <em>wrong.</em></p><p>Wu has always been a traditionalist at heart, and frankly, he’s not sure that he likes the new direction that his country has taken.</p><p>Not to mention the fact that only just last year, the Fire Lord took a <em>Water Tribe peasant</em> for a wife.</p><p>He suppresses a shudder at the thought, as he stands with the rest of the villagers in the town’s central square. If the Fire Lord wants to debase himself with a savage, that’s his business, Wu supposes.</p><p>(Though apparently, the term savage is now considered wrong, too. He’s been ordered to stop using it in school- frankly he finds the whole thing a bit ridiculous.</p><p>They live on <em>ice,</em> for Agni’s sake- of course they’re savage.)</p><p>The cheers of the crowd around him magnify as the royal processions finally sweeps into town, moving slowly amidst the people. First come the guards- four of them, mounted on sturdy-looking komodo-rhinos.</p><p>When the guards have passed, the royal couple arrives, mounted on lion-horses and waving to their people.</p><p>Fire Lord Zuko is young, which is to be expected- he’s only recently turned 21, after all. His hair is pulled into a half topknot, but he has long bangs framing a pale-skinned face. His most defining feature, of course, stands out in sharp contrast against his skin, and Wu can’t help but wince at the sight of it.</p><p>Fire Lady Katara has dark brown skin and appears even younger than her husband, with brilliant blue eyes accentuated by deep purple robes. Her curly hair is barely contained in a blue-beaded up-do, and-</p><p>It’s <em>strange,</em> but Wu feels a sudden, horrible premonition settle over him.</p><p>Of course, at the exact moment that he has his premonition, the Fire Lord turns in his direction, and pale golden eyes settle unflinchingly on him.</p><p>Wu averts his eyes, but he can still somewhat see; so, of course, he notices the moment that the Fire Lord nudges his young wife, and then a pair of ocean-blue eyes settle on him, too.</p><p>
  <em>What is going on?</em>
</p><p>“Headmaster Wu”. The young, raspy, firm voice rings out above the din of the crowd, instantly settling them. Wu startles, and drops to his knees- <em>how does the Fire Lord know his name?</em></p><p>He hopes that his voice isn’t shaking, too much, as he looks up and focuses very firmly on the Fire Lord’s chin. “Y- yes, my Lord?”</p><p>His Most Royal Majesty, Descendant of the Great Sun God Agni, Keeper of the Eternal Flame, Hope of the Fire Nation, and Friend of the Avatar, Fire Lord Zuko, cocks his head at Wu, and his face is set in stone. “Send any children to the mines, recently?”</p><p>Wu blanches, and prays for mercy- he doesn’t know <em>what</em> this is about, but it can’t possibly be good. “N- no, your Majesty”.</p><p>“Good”. Her Most Royal Majesty, Princess of the Southern Water Tribe, Jewel of the Islands, Healer of the Sick, and Friend of the Avatar, Fire Lady Katara, gives him a nod, idly spinning three droplets of water around her palm. “See that you keep it that way”.</p><p>The royal couple moves on, and Wu looks at the ground, panting.</p><p>A sudden image of a young colony couple, and their rambunctious son, comes to mind, and he almost throws up.</p><p>The day after the royal couple leaves town, Wu resigns from his position as Headmaster immediately.</p><p>He thinks that his time might be better spent in a different trade. Perhaps pig-chicken farming?</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd pay good money to see that guy forced to farm pig-chickens, lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. soulmates</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I found the soulmate trope... difficult to write, lol.  So, have this weird take on it. It's set in the same AU as Chapter 2.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Everyone knows that soulmates aren’t anything more than a myth.</p><p>For one thing, it’s nothing more than a feeling. An echo of a whisper, a hand coming to hold yours, the feeling of a phantom hug as your match’s soul reaches out towards yours. Nothing that can be <em>proven;</em> anyone who claims to have a soulmate is generally considered delusional.</p><p>And then on top of that, the circumstances required to <em>confirm</em> that people are, in fact, soulmates, are so unlikely that they’re practically impossible. A pygmy-puma must howl while three shooting stars pass over the mates as they’re holding hands at exactly midnight on the night of a full moon. Then, one of them will stub their toe exactly two seconds afterwards.</p><p>See? Insanity. It’s completely illogical, and if there’s anything that Sokka prides himself on, it’s his <em>logic.</em></p><p>(The whole thing was apparently conceived by spirits, too, which makes it even more crazy. Everyone knows that spirits aren’t logical.)</p><p>It’s not as though people don’t <em>try,</em> though. It’s tradition, really, for fanciful young lovers around the world to stand outside together at midnight, in heavily pygmy-puma-populated areas, and hope for a miracle.</p><p>Miracles, unfortunately, rarely act the way that humans want them to.</p><p>It’s why, late one night, as they’re camping in the Fire Nation wilderness, that as Sokka sees Katara and Zuko coming back from collecting firewood, he doesn’t really think anything of it that they’re holding hands. Ever since Zuko joined them in Ba Sing Se, he and Katara have gotten weirdly close.</p><p>(He can’t say that he loves the idea of his sister getting so close to the Fire Nation’s Crown Prince- but hey, Zuko’s a pretty chill guy, when he’s not being an <em>I-must-capture-the-Avatar-and-restore-my-honor</em> jerkbender. He’s a great swordsman too, and really, it’s all that Sokka’s wanted for years- someone his own age to spar with.</p><p>He loses most of their bouts, but that’s <em>okay,</em> because he’s getting better.</p><p>And besides all that, it’s not as though Katara would <em>let</em> him get involved in her love life, anyways.)</p><p>He also doesn’t really notice the fact that, well, it’s quite close to midnight, isn’t it? They only managed to find a safe place to land Appa quite late, since they’ve gotten <em>dreadfully</em> off his carefully-planned take-down-the-Jerk-Lord-schedule.</p><p>Either way, he only gives the two of them a short wave, before looking back up at the full moon and quietly talking to Yue. He’s asking her to take care of Suki; because they haven’t seen her since Ba Sing Se, and well- he’s worried.</p><p>It’s then that he notices three flashing lights, rapidly hurtling across the night sky- stars! He opens his mouth, ready to call out his excitement, and almost jumps out of his skin as something <em>screeches,</em> and a small black creature darts between the nearby trees.</p><p>He looks at his sister and Zuko, right in time to see Zuko seemingly trip over nothing, and spill all their neatly-collected firewood.</p><p>Katara’s hurried exclamation of whether Zuko’s alright is enough to make him stand up, and move to help collect the fallen firewood (his sister has really been on him, lately, about doing his share of the chores).</p><p>When they’ve finally managed to collect the wood again, Katara and Zuko have moved towards their respective sleeping positions (where Aang and Toph are already sleeping), and he moves to follow them, before-</p><p>Sokka blinks.</p><p>Then laughs, and shakes his head, because <em>come on</em>.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Pygmy-pumas, amirite?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. agni kai</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This one's a bit... meh, unfortunately.  I tried, lol, but there's only so many routes that one can take the Agni Kai prompt in.  It's so specific.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s not that she doesn’t <em>want</em> to know, but Katara’s never been sure how to ask.</p><p>Or, really, if it’s even her place, to be asking.</p><p>One might argue that, being his girlfriend, she’d have the right to know how he got his scar; but really, it doesn’t always work that way. She’s not entitled to know everything about him whenever she wants, no matter how curious she gets.</p><p>She thinks that Zuko would probably tell her though, if she asked. She knows that he gets sensitive about it, but over the years that they’ve known each other, she’s learned how to weather his storms, when to push and when to retreat.</p><p>But she doesn’t know if she <em>should.</em></p><p>It’s as she’s walking the halls of the Fire Palace one day, that the decision is taken out of her hands.</p><p>It’s so quick that she barely even registers it, until it’s over. Two servants walk by carrying load of clean laundry, and they’re gossiping about how far the Fire Lord has come, since he faced his father in an Agni Kai.</p><p>Katara frowns, because- <em>when did this happen?</em></p><p>It certainly wasn’t any time after the war ended, and it’s unlikely that it happened while Zuko was hunting them. That means that it must have been… before?</p><p>(But- how <em>old</em> was he?)</p><p>It’s of course at this moment that Zuko finds her, smiling down at her gently. “Katara. There you are. I’ve been…”</p><p>She misses the rest of what he says because her gaze instantly zeroes in on his face, and she sees his oh-so-familiar scar, and-</p><p>She’s not sure <em>how</em> she knows, and frankly she still doesn’t know why or when, but- she does know what a monster Ozai was, and it <em>makes sense</em>.</p><p>She doesn’t quite manage to hide the gasp that rips its way out of her, nor the way that her healer’s instincts cause her to reach her hand towards his face. She aborts the movement before it fully reaches its target, but that’s more than enough, because Zuko tenses anyways, looking at her oddly. “Are you okay?”</p><p>“Did Ozai do this?” <em>No,</em> no, she should <em>not</em> be just bringing it up like this, she <em>knows</em> that, but she can’t seem to stop her mouth, or the possibilities that are now racing through her brain.</p><p>Zuko stiffens even further, golden eyes narrowing, but eventually, he releases his breath in a huff. “I- yes. How did you-”</p><p>“I just- I heard some servants, and I put things together, and I know I should have-”</p><p>“No”. He’s not any <em>less</em> tense, but he also doesn’t look <em>too</em> upset, which is a relief. “I- it’s okay. I want to- you, of all people, I want you to know. I've never been sure how to say it, and I don't like talking about it, but- I want you to know”.</p><p>She bites her lip, but he gestures for her to follow him back to his chambers, where they can have some privacy.</p><p>And it takes him a while, but he spills the story to her, hauntingly, of a little princeling who was more honorable at age thirteen than the rest of his family combined.</p><p>When he’s done, she doesn’t say anything at first, but draws him closer to her, resting his head on her shoulder. Her burrows his face in her neck, and doesn’t move for a while, except for the silent shaking of his body.</p><p>Ozai is lucky, Katara thinks, that he was executed by a council of Nations after the end of the war.</p><p>Because if he weren’t, she’d kill him herself.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. partners in crime</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko gives her a determined look. “This is going to require the utmost amount of stealth”.</p><p>She stares back at him, eyebrow raised. “Zuko. We’re breaking into the kitchen. <em>Our</em> kitchen”.</p><p>Her husband’s expression doesn’t change; if anything, it only gets more severe. “You know how Chef Ping gets when his stuff is touched, or when people cook in the kitchen without him. This is a <em>mission”.</em></p><p>Katara tries very hard not to laugh at him. “Well, Master Ninja, we’ve broken into a Fire Navy communications tower before. I think that we’ll be fine. It’s just a midnight snack, and-”</p><p>“Chef Ping is <em>ruthless.</em> Remember the time that you wanted to make Five-Flavor Soup, and he-”</p><p>“Zuko!” She pokes him in the chest, firmly. “This baby is kicking, and I am hungry. I’m going to the kitchen with or without you”.</p><p>The Firelord grimaces, but follows her, muttering under his breath about needing an escape route.</p><p>She politely ignores him, and makes a stewed-seaprune-and-armadillo-goat-cheese sandwich, and it’s totally worth it.</p><p>Even when Chef Ping does, in fact, find out, and scolds the royal couple like a pair of toddlers.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Short and sweet, lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. fake dating</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This takes place in a modern, non-bending AU because... it just seemed to fit best with the prompt.  For reference, Katara is a doctor and Zuko is a social worker.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Do you think that we should tell them that this baby is fake?”</p><p>Toph’s sure that she’s not <em>supposed</em> to overhear this, but never let it be said that Toph Bei Fong did things that she was <em>supposed</em> to do. So, she leaves the rest of the baby-shower attendees in the living room, sidles closer to the closed kitchen door, and listens with mounting glee to Sweetness’ and Sparky’s conversation.</p><p>“Zuko!” That’s Sweetness, smacking her husband on the arm; after years of hearing it, Toph knows that sound <em>very</em> well. “Our child isn’t <em>fake!”</em></p><p>A raspy laugh. “You know what I meant, my darling fake wife”.</p><p>“I do, but still”. There’s the sound of kissing afterwards, and she shakes her head. If she wants to know what they’re talking about, she’ll have to interrupt them now, before they forget, and move on to other… activities.</p><p>(They’ve both been extremely excitable, upon hearing that they’re going to be parents.)</p><p>So, she bangs the door open, crosses her arms, and stares in the direction that their voices are coming from. “What do you mean, it’s a fake baby? Am I not going to be Auntie Toph after all?”</p><p>“Toph!” That’s Sweetness, hastily trying to pretend that she wasn’t sucking face with her husband. “I- that’s not- we were just-”</p><p>“Spill it, Sugar Queen”. She stalks forward, puts on the grin that she’s been told is <em>most</em> unsettling.</p><p>She can’t see it, obviously, but she can feel the subtle differences in the air as they shift uncomfortably, and she knows that she’s got them.</p><p>“I- it was an accident!” That’s Sparky’s voice, chagrined. “You remember how when Katara introduced me to you, Sokka, Suki, and Aang as her boyfriend, none of you had even heard of me before?”</p><p>Toph feels her grin widen. “Yup! And we all figured that something <em>had</em> to be up, but eventually, you convinced us that you were a perfectly ordinary couple who'd just <em>happened </em>to fall in love at first sight?”</p><p>“Well-”</p><p>“We weren’t dating then, not really!” Sweetness bursts in now, voice firm but also veering into self-righteous mode. “It’s just- I had <em>just</em> broke up with Jet, and you were all so smug and condescending about it. And I met Zuko while I was on shift at the hospital when Jet tried to stab him as some sort of twisted revenge on me, and after a lot of yelling and bargaining, he agreed to pretend to be my boyfriend to get the rest of you to back off about my taste in men”.</p><p>“And then we just… never stopped”. Sparky’s voice is sheepish.</p><p>Toph lets out a cackle and bangs her white cane on the floor. “And now you’re fake-married with a fake-child, and I’m going to be a fake-aunt!”</p><p>There’s the sound of Sparky smacking his forehead. “Toph, please. Don’t-”.</p><p>She smirks in his direction and walks away, back to the rest of the party before he can finish his sentence.</p><p>She knows what he’s going to say, and well- she won’t tell anyone else <em>yet.</em> As for the <em>future,</em> well…</p><p>She <em>is</em> Toph Bei Fong, after all. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*chanting softly* toph toph toph toph</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. dragon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is from an unfinished, unposted AU of mine, that I do hope to be able to post one day, but honestly the plot’s sort of kicking my arse right now and I’ve got a lot of other projects that sort of stole my attention, so… we’ll see?  But for context, immediately after his banishment, instead of letting a thirteen-year-old kid stew in grief and anger for three years, Uncle took Zuko directly to meet the dragons.  And Zuko’s… Zuko, at first, but when an ancient dragon egg starts responding to him, and then eventually a baby dragon hatches and attaches itself to him, he’s all ‘dragons rule! Wahoo!’  Anyways.  They stay with the Sun Warriors for a while, and Zuko comes to realize that 'this war is wrong, my father is a douche', yadda yadda, way before he ever meets the Gaang.  And so, he and Druk set off to become nomad brothers-in-arms when Druk is old enough to fly with him, and Uncle takes the ship and crew, though they keep in contact as uncle-and-nephew because of course they do.  This carries on, until eventually Zuko runs into the Gaang by saving them from pirates, and then there’s a series of misadventures and whatnot as Zuko struggles to come to terms with ‘is it my duty to help restore balance, or is it just enough to know that the war is wrong’.  Suffice to say, he eventually joins the Gaang.  </p><p>Will I ever actually post this fic?  Who knows.  It’s a bit rough, not gonna lie.  But we’ll see.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara knows that she’s staring, but in her defense, Druk is kind of a stare-worthy sight.</p><p>Even if dragons <em>weren’t</em> an endangered species, she’s from the South Pole; it’s not as though she’s ever seen one in her life, before Druk.</p><p>But; ever since Zuko’s joined them- it’s been an everyday thing. Him and Druk have become part of the group now, seamlessly fitting themselves in as though they’d always been there.</p><p>The banished Fire Nation Prince and his dragon-brother. <em>Who knew</em>?</p><p>Either way, she’s lying awake, unable to sleep, and staring directly at where Druk is curled around Zuko and completely hiding the prince’s form like some sort of oversized highly-lethal blanket, when a massive head lifts, and huge golden eyes stare into hers.</p><p>Eyes that are as tall as she is, really, if not <em>taller.</em></p><p>She holds her breath, hardly daring to move. She knows that Druk understands human speech perfectly well, and that he and Zuko have some sort of mind-meld communication thing going on, but it’s still disconcerting, to think of a creature <em>that</em> large as being, well, intelligent.</p><p>Appa’s one thing. Appa, for all his wonderful traits and ability to understand many human things, is still very much an animal, behaves like an animal. And Druk is <em>too,</em> it’s just that… there’s something almost otherworldly, about Druk, and she can’t deny that it unsettles and awes her in equal measures.</p><p>Or, perhaps it’s just the apex-predator-thing, too.</p><p>Druk doesn’t blink, staring at her, and for a moment, she wonders if the dragon <em>knows.</em></p><p>Knows, that even though it was completely unintentional, she’s developed a bit of a crush on Zuko, and she’s not sure what on <em>earth</em> she’s going to do about it.</p><p>It’s entirely possible. Druk can think for himself, can feel for himself.</p><p>She wonders if he approves.  </p><p>Before she can figure out how to politely ask that, or if she even <em>should</em>, the dragon lets out a huff, smoke curling out of his nostrils and surrounding her, almost like a warm hug. His tongue flicks out, and for a moment, she almost feels as though he’s smiling.</p><p>Then he closes his eyes, and turns away from her again, curling tighter around his human-brother.</p><p>Katara breathes out, feeling strangely settled; and with a smile playing at her lips, goes to sleep.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I just love Druk. And Zuko.  And the idea of Druk-and-Zuko, taking on the world.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. balance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I couldn't think of anything for this prompt except literal balance.  My brain just was not fully on, today.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Give up yet?”</p><p>Katara sticks her tongue out at Zuko’s question, as best she can, anyways, and shouts words that would make Gran-gran wash her mouth out with leopard-whale blubber.</p><p>Sokka winces, and stares at the spectacle. “Who do you think is gonna win?”</p><p>“Sparky”, Toph declares, at the exact same time that Suki says “Zuko”, and Aang says “Katara”.</p><p>They all look to him, and he sputters. “Hey, it was an honest question!”</p><p>“One that you haven’t answered yourself, Snoozles”. Toph pokes him. “Come on. Be honest”.</p><p>He rolls his eyes and groans internally, silently thanking Yue that Katara can’t hear him. “The jerkbender, obviously”. Aang glares at him, and he winces. “Look, I’m sorry! She’s my sister, and a master waterbender. But Zuko’s… Zuko, with all his freaky ninja jerkbender powers. <em>Look</em> at them!”</p><p>Collectively, they all look to where the Fire Lord and the Southern Water Tribe Ambassador are having a hand-stand contest.</p><p>In the private gardens of the Fire Nation Royal Palace.</p><p>Of course, it’s at this moment that Katara does finally tumble to the ground, unable to keep her balance any longer. Sokka hides a grimace- no <em>way</em> that didn’t hurt.</p><p>Zuko, in contrast, slides fluidly to his feet, and smugly crosses his arms at a very irate waterbender.</p><p>Who’s now… smirking?</p><p>Sokka’s seen that look on his sister’s face enough times to know what it means. And as much as he loves his sister, and his future brother-in-law, he’s in <em>no</em> mood to be anywhere near here when they start getting all… couple-y.</p><p>“Nope!” He swivels on his heel and stalks out of the palace gardens, eyeing the delicious-looking-but-they’re-Zuko’s-pets-so-their-meaty-goodness-is-off-limits turtle-ducks as he goes. “Not doing this!”</p><p>Ugh. Now his stomach’s rumbling.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>In a hand-stand battle?  Zuko would win, no question (for me, at least).  And <em>maybe</em> that's just my bias talking (because I won't lie, he is my favourite) but also...   </p><p>Katara's powerful and strong and a master, but she's only ever been trained in one style of fighting.  Give her a sword, and well... yup.  Zuko, in contrast, is a powerful bender, a ninja, and a swordsman, and whatnot.  So, if it comes down to who can stand on their head the longest... Zuko wins. I feel like his muscles/body strength would just be better adapted for it? Do keep in mind, though, that I don't do martial arts or ninja-ing, so really, I could be completely wrong lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. folktale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So... I don't know what I did, for this?  If anyone actually <em>understands</em> what I wrote here, please enlighten me; because I'd honestly love to know.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Zuko was little, his mother would tell him stories about the other nations.</p><p>The unshakeable strength of the Earth Kingdom. The wise spirituality of the Air Nomads. The courage and endurance of the Water Tribes. She taught him about their cultures, their histories, and their ways of life.</p><p>He loved it, all of it.</p><p>But even though the world was at peace, they were just stories to him; because the Fire Nation kept itself isolated, in fear of retaliation by other nations for a war that had happened over a hundred years ago; a war in which they’d been the aggressors.</p><p>When he is sixteen, though, his mother steps down from her role as regent; the role that she has held since his father was executed for the crime of murdering his crown-prince cousin, and his Uncle declared that the lineage of the throne should pass to Zuko.</p><p>When he is sixteen, he makes the decree to open his country’s borders for the first time in over a hundred years, and he <em>meets</em> them.</p><p>The other three nations of the world attend his coronation, and <em>oh,</em> it is like nothing he’s ever seen. He’s used to the reds and golds of the Fire Nation; but here are people in greens, in browns, in oranges, in yellows, and in blues.</p><p>They really are like something out of a folk-tale, and it fascinates him.</p><p>There’s one girl, though, who <em>really</em> catches his eye. She is the daughter of the Southern Water Tribe chief, here on delegation with her family, and she watches him with eyes bluer than the sea in a summer storm, and a sureness that speaks of strength beyond her years.</p><p>She is beautiful, and fierce, and every bit like a character out of a folk-tale; but, the way that she watches him is painfully, <em>wonderfully</em> human, and it makes him want to know more.</p><p>Folk-tales, after all, are fictional, and can only offer one so much. But, something about the way that this girl watches him, the way that she smiles when he musters up the courage to talk to her and show her the turtle-duck ponds, is real.</p><p>And reality, he thinks, is even better than the stories.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>me in this ficlet: reality is more important than stories<br/>me the rest of the time:  what is this reality that you speak of? don’t know them</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. dao swords</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Watching Zuko move with his dao is a little bit like seeing a tiger-dillo at a zoo.</p><p>Katara’s only ever been to the Ba Sing Se zoo, and she’s not exactly eager to repeat the experience, but still; watching him move with his dao is comparable, she thinks.</p><p>It’s an entirely different experience from his firebending. He’s a strong bender, but the styles are completely different. Where his firebending is sharp, full of raw power, his sword-fighting is graceful, elegant, full of restrained strength and refined precision.</p><p>It’s… breathtaking. Like seeing a caged tiger-dillo; strong, deadly, and utterly controlled.</p><p>And, of course, Zuko <em>is</em> in perfect control.</p><p>It’s an amazing sight. So, really, Katara doesn’t think that she can be <em>blamed</em> for almost always finding a reason to watch him practice on Ember Island, as they await the arrival of Sozin's comet.</p><p>(And if he happens to almost always be <em>shirtless</em> while he practices too, well-)</p><p>Katara’s certain that the blush on her cheeks can be whole-heartedly attributed to spending so much time under the hot Fire Nation sun.</p><p>What else would it be, after all?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. scars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This takes place in the same AU as Chapter 2, and others; where Zuko joined them in Ba Sing Se.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara’s been in a lot of fights, but that doesn’t make it any easier for her to have to deal with the aftermath.</p><p>It’d been nothing but a fluke, really. They’d been camping in the Fire Nation wilderness, when a patrol of soldiers had happened upon them, and well-</p><p>They’re two master benders, a Southern Water Tribe warrior, a Kyoshi warrior, the Avatar, and one master-sword-fighter-firebender-ninja. They’d fought the soldiers off, obviously; but it’d been a large patrol, and it wasn’t easy.</p><p>They’ll have to move camp quickly, now; they can’t allow themselves to be found before Sozin’s comet arrives, or all will be lost. She finishes hiding the last of the unconscious men in a hollow that Aang’s earthbent, and instructs her brother, Suki, and the airbender to begin packing their supplies, when she turns and hears a little cry, and <em>oh-</em></p><p>Toph’s sitting up against a tree, and Zuko’s inspecting her arm with a frown on his face.</p><p>The earthbender’s face is tight, and Katara instantly feels a pang of guilt. Toph’s <em>hurt,</em> and she’d been so preoccupied that she hadn’t even noticed.</p><p>She hastens towards them, already wrapping a sheath of water around her palm, and- pauses.</p><p>Zuko’s not just <em>inspecting.</em> He’s- he’s got a little pot full of some sort of cream, that he’s applying to Toph’s arm, and-</p><p>As she approaches, the firebender’s pinched face softens in relief, while Toph only smirks. “Sugar Queen? Give me a hand, would you? I told Sparky that he really didn’t need to bother, since you can heal, but he insisted”.</p><p>Zuko, predictable, rolls his eyes. “I just wanted to see for myself, Toph”.</p><p>“Yeah, I know”. For a moment, the earthbender’s smirk is softer, milky eyes staring into nothing, before she speaks again. “Magic water, Sweetness?”</p><p>Katara resists the urge to give the other girl a Look, because it’s not as though it would work anyways, and places her hands on Toph’s arm. It’s not a bad burn, and Zuko’s already covered it with some sort of ointment, but she stitches it together anyways; healing until the skin is only a bit red.</p><p>When it’s done, Toph stands up and punches her in the arm. “Thanks, Sugar Queen”. The earthbender then moves to where Sokka, Suki, and Aang are hastily preparing Appa before she can get another word in.</p><p>Next to her, Zuko moves to follow, but she holds him back with a gentle arm. She’s not sure if she <em>should</em> ask this, but- “Why? I mean- are you-”</p><p>Golden eyes are inscrutable for a moment, before he huffs a sigh. “I just- I know what it’s like, to be burned. And I know you would have healed it, I guess- I just wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t have any scarring”.</p><p>She can’t help but bite her lip then- it’s almost impossible not to. She’s seen Zuko shirtless- his most prominent scar, is certainly not his only one, not by a long shot. In comparison, her own skin is quite smooth; so, while she’s been <em>burned,</em> she can’t say that she entirely relates.</p><p>The sight of all his scars does make her <em>furious,</em> though, because-</p><p>Zuko’s one of her family. And people have hurt him, have scarred him and broken his trust, and it makes her furious. Water is- not always kind, and people tend to forget that; that she can be gentle and kind, yes, but she can also be as unforgiving as the coldest polar glaciers, as harsh as the raging sea in a winter storm.</p><p>But her rage won’t help him, now.</p><p>So, she wraps her arms around him, and he tenses, for a second, but eventually relaxes against her, warm corded muscles sinking into her embrace.</p><p>“You’re more than just your scars, Zuko”. She whispers it into the silence between them, and he shudders for a second, before hesitantly wrapping his arms around her in return.</p><p>She can tell that he doesn’t quite believe her, not yet, but-</p><p>That’s okay. Water is also patient- it can endure for years. And no matter how long it takes, she’s going to help him see that he’s more than the sum of what people have tried to do to him.</p><p>Scars don’t define a person.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Yes, I know that Toph would probably have sensed the soldiers before they were found.  *raises finger to lips* shhhhhh</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. intimacy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This takes bit in a… mostly canon-compliant-ish, AU?  Where season 3 happened basically the same as normal, except that after the whole deal with the Southern Raiders, Katara and Zuko never quite became proper friends.  Allies, yes, close enough to fight against Azula together and whatnot, but not quite friends, either.  Just because, well, it seemed to work?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara’s the last person that Zuko sleeps next to.</p><p>It’s a gradual thing, really, that starts at the Western Air Temple after he joins them. The first person, of course, is Toph; because out of everyone, she is the first to warm up to him; the first one to treat him as though he’s not a particularly venomous rat-viper that they’ve been forced to harbor.</p><p>And in turn, he warms up to her quickly, too; so, the first person is Toph.</p><p>Next is Aang. It’s instantaneous, really; whatever happened to them at the Sun Warrior ruins (Katara’s still not sure on all the details, really) it forged a bond. Zuko still prefers to stay closer to Toph, out of all of them; but Aang has become <em>trusted,</em> now.</p><p>So, it continues; Sokka is next, and then Suki, until eventually, Katara’s the only one of their group that he’s never dared to fall asleep next to; he refuses to sleep within ten feet of her, at any given time.</p><p>And that’s fair. It makes <em>sense.</em> There’s no way that he’s forgotten her warning after all, and she <em>will</em> kill him, if he hurts Aang, no matter what the others may say-</p><p>But then there’s a whirlwind of events, and she finds herself having <em>forgiven</em> him, of all things, and how could she not? After Yon Rah, after everything… he’s proven himself.</p><p>But, it’s not as though they become instantaneous friends, trusted confidants. Even after they’ve taken the first steps towards healing their relationship, towards moving forward, the Fire Prince still refuses to sleep anywhere near her.</p><p>On Ember Island, his chosen bedroom is the farthest away from hers. He doesn’t go out of his way to avoid her, exactly; not after he’d put so much effort into working towards earning her forgiveness; but he also doesn’t actively seek her out.</p><p>It… hurts, when Katara stops to think about it. More than she’d expected that it would. After all, there are good reasons why he wouldn’t feel comfortable being vulnerable around her, yet, reasons why they wouldn’t just jump straight to being friends, and sleeping is a form of vulnerability, a form of friendship.</p><p>She can’t force it, though. There’s a part of her that wants to shake him, wants to demand that he stop making her feel so <em>other,</em> that he let her in <em>now,</em> but she <em>can’t.</em></p><p>It took so long, for her to warm up to him, to even give him the barest chance after Ba Sing Se. Is it not fair, then, for him to also go at his own pace? He wanted her to forgive him, and she <em>has;</em> but he never forced it, nor did he ever imply that her forgiveness should also mean her friendship.</p><p>It’s only fair, then, that he be given his own time, to decide how intimate he wants their relationship to be. How much he trusts her, beyond just being allies and tentative friends on the side of the Avatar.</p><p>So, they continue as they are; tentative friends, but they rarely spend much time together, outside of the group dynamic. Until eventually, Aang goes missing, and <em>spirits,</em> Sozin’s comet arrives, and everything’s a mess, and-</p><p>And one thing leads to another, and Zuko jumps in front of a bolt of lightning. For <em>her.</em></p><p>And it’s all horrid, but eventually- things work out.</p><p>Things work themselves out, and the war is <em>over,</em> and she finds herself alone in the royal gardens of the Fire Nation palace, and she tries to take a moment alone to just- <em>breathe.</em></p><p>She sits by a turtle-duck pond, and tries not to envy the creatures for the simple lives that they lead.</p><p>It’s here that Zuko finds her- the Fire-Lord-to-be is still healing, and really shouldn’t be out of bed. And she moves to tell him this, to insist that he <em>get back to his chambers this instant</em>, but-</p><p>He takes a seat next to her, still moving slowly from the healing wound on his chest, and just- rests his head, on her shoulder.</p><p>He’s never done that, before. For anyone. Not even Toph.</p><p>(He'll seek them out and sleep <em>near</em> them, but never <em>on</em> them, and-)</p><p>And she doesn’t <em>dare</em> to move, to break whatever this is, so she remains still, even as his breathing evens out, and eventually, he falls asleep.</p><p>Just like that. No explanation. Nothing to say <em>why</em> he just decided to come find her, and fall asleep on her, but he has, and-</p><p>She could probably spend hours thinking on it. Half of her is tempted to shake him awake and <em>demand</em> an explanation, but-</p><p>He’s sleeping.</p><p>(And if <em>that</em> wasn’t incentive enough, not to disturb him, a baby turtle-duck makes its way out of the water and waddles its way into Zuko’s lap. Where he’s <em>still</em> sleeping, on her, completely unaware of the little bird.)</p><p>So, she rests her head against his, where it’s still leaning on her shoulder. And breathes, and forces herself not to think.</p><p>And eventually, she falls asleep too.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've always been better with the quieter sorts of intimacy.  Such as hand-holding, and forehead kisses, and falling asleep together.  I'm not entirely certain what I've done here but ah, well.  I tried.  Hope this fit the bill!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. eclipse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She puts on a brave face, but he can tell that she’s terrified.</p><p>Not that she’s ever experienced a proper lunar eclipse before, because she <em>hasn’t.</em> But she remembers, what it was like when the moon died in the North Pole, and-</p><p>His wife is scared, he knows.</p><p>But there’s not much that he can do about it except be <em>there,</em> for her. Total eclipses, lunar or solar, don’t happen often, and they do pass. And he will be here, for her.</p><p>So, he holds her as the moon turns dark; as her waterbending leaves her. They are safe here, in their royal chambers of the Fire Nation, but her most precious, innate defense has left her, and safety becomes a relative term.</p><p>But that’s- well, not <em>okay,</em> but it will be alright; because he will fight for her, even when she cannot fight for herself. Just as she has fought for him, time and time again.</p><p>And eventually, the moon turns pale again, and her bending returns.</p><p>But still, they stay together, as they always will.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. caught undressed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>No, he did <em>not</em> shriek, <em>thank you very much</em>.</p><p>It was an <em>exclamation.</em> A low, manly exclamation. He coughs, and tries to adjust himself from where he’s hastily moved <em>(dived)</em> behind his bed. “Can you give me a moment, please?”</p><p>Katara stares at him, from where she’s <em>still</em> standing in the doorway of his room. “Zuko, are you alright?”</p><p>He feels his face growing hotter, and nods as quickly as he can, trying to maneuver the bedsheets so that they fall on top of his lower half. “Yup! Fine! Completely fine! I’ll be out in a minute, so if you could please just…”</p><p>The stubborn waterbender shakes her head, and moves even <em>closer.</em> “You don’t look alright. Your face is all red, and your voice is squeaky. Let me look at you”.</p><p><em>Alright,</em> he’s had enough of this. “Katara! For Agni’s sake, I’m <em>naked!</em> Get out!”</p><p>He notes that her face <em>does</em> darken briefly, before she shakes her head, and cocks a hip at him and <em>oh,</em> he knows that look. “Zuko, just let me look at you!” Her face darkens again, as she seems to realize her phrasing, but she soldiers on. “Seriously, I can feel the heat coming off you from all the way over here. Just let me…”</p><p>“No!” He waves a hand, and finally manages to wrap the bedsheets around himself, standing up and retreating as far away as he can-</p><p>Oh <em>Agni,</em> he’s backed himself into a corner. “I’m fine, I swear! What in the name of the spirits are you even doing here, didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?”</p><p>She rolls her eyes at him. “Zuko, I grew up in the South Pole. We live in tents and igloos; there aren’t really many doors to knock on. Besides, I’ve seen naked men before. It’s not that big of a deal”.</p><p>He gapes at her- <em>what?</em></p><p>He’s not sure if he <em>should</em> be offended or not; but, before he can gather his thoughts, Katara speaks again. “I mean, we’re a really small community. There isn’t really much in the way of privacy, you know?”</p><p>He nods, slowly; <em>what is even happening anymore</em>? “I- see…”</p><p>Katara takes advantage of his momentary lapse of awareness to get in close<em>,</em> and slaps her hand against his forehead. “You really are hot. Are you sure you’re feeling all right? I came to tell you that dinner’s ready, but if you’re not feeling well I can bring it up to you-”.</p><p>“Firebender!” and <em>no,</em> he does not <em>squeak.</em> “I’m a firebender. Body heat, and all that. I promise I don’t have a fever, and I’ll be down in a minute”.</p><p>Here at his family’s home on Ember Island, as they await Sozin’s comet, Katara’s cooking repertoire has expanded as she experiments with the range of flavors now available to her. He can’t deny that he’s curious, to see what she’s come up with.</p><p>But right now, he just wants her <em>out.</em></p><p>He clears his throat, and wraps the blankets even tighter around his waist. “Seriously, just let me get dressed”.</p><p>Katara nods, and moves her hand away; but then she looks down, directly at his uncovered chest. Her eyes widen for a moment, and he <em>swears</em> that he sees her mouth open, a little. He feels his blush get darker in response, and he is suddenly <em>very</em> aware that there’s less than two inches of space between them.</p><p>
  <em>Move, please, just walk away now-</em>
</p><p>Eventually, Katara gives another very sharp nod. “Right! Alright, you’ll be down in a minute, and away I must now! Go! To the kitchen, I mean”.</p><p>He's forgotten how to form coherent speech, so he nods back, and the door <em>finally</em> closes behind her.</p><p>His legs give out, and he collapses onto the floor, against the wall. Katara is his <em>friend</em> now, and they’ve gotten closer, after Yon Rah, but there <em>isn’t</em> anything else there. There <em>can’t</em> be, after all.</p><p>However, this has all been very embarrassing; and he’d like nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die, but he promised that he’d be downstairs, so he forces himself to move.</p><p>Later, as they eat in the courtyard that night, he studiously avoids Katara’s gaze; she avoids his right back.</p><p>(He doesn’t see it, but Toph rolls her sightless eyes and mutters <em>idiots.</em>)</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. avatara</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’ll be honest- I’ve never been hugely fond of the trope where someone besides Aang is the Avatar with respect to timelines, regardless of who, unless the story itself is just so compelling that I can get over myself.  So, I’ve decided to do something… slightly different.  I'm not actually sure <em>what</em> I've done.  But I'm just gonna roll with this, lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko stares in consternation at his wife, who stares back at him from big, gray eyes.</p><p>As one, they whip around to look at… well, Katara.</p><p>Sh-He holds up shaking hands. “This was not my fault!”</p><p>“Really”. The words hiss out from behind clenched teeth, and Zuko’s barely keeping a lid on his temper. “Tell me, <em>Aang,</em> oh great bridge with the spirits. <em>Why exactly is Katara in your body</em>?”</p><p>Aang-as-Katara then proceeds to launch into a lengthy ten-minute explanation, complete with a hand-drawn diagram and a mini-sketch performed by Appa and Momo. By the end, Zuko’s just about ready to throw the airbender off a cliff.</p><p>Except, well, airben-</p><p>
  <em>Wait.</em>
</p><p>He looks back at his wife, who’s rubbing her shiny bald head and grimacing. “Katara. My love. Can you… bend?”</p><p>She gives him a look that says she thinks he’s being incredibly stupid, right now, and he backtracks. “Not water! I mean… can you bend the others?”</p><p>She opens her mouth, pauses, and-</p><p>A little air-ball rises above her hands.</p><p>The wicked smirk that spreads over her face (except it’s <em>Aang’s</em> face, Agni-) is a mirror image for his own, he knows, and as one, they turn back around to look at the Avatar.</p><p>Whose nut-brown skin has gone as pale as Zuko’s ever seen it.</p><p>Aang-as-Katara gives them a sheepish look. “Please don’t-”</p><p>“Oh, no”. Katara-as-Aang stalks towards… well, her own body, still holding up the spinning air-ball. “You barge into our home, say that you need to meditate in the royal gardens because Yue-only-knows-why, and the next thing I know there’s a blinding white light and I’m stuck in your body, and you’re in mine! I do not want to be stuck in your body, Aang! So, fix this, or I’ll- I’ll-”</p><p>“It was an accident!”</p><p>“I don’t care”. His wife adds water, earth and fire to her little spinning-ball, and Zuko’s not sure that he’s ever been more in love. “I am not going to tell my baby daughter that I’m! You!”</p><p>“She’s right”. He makes sure that his voice is as Fire-Lord-y as possible. “Katsumi won’t be pleased. And speaking as her husband, I love her no matter what body she's in, but <em>I'm not happy about whatever you've done to her either</em>. So, <em>figure it out</em>”.</p><p>Aang-as-Katara gulps loudly, before curling back up into a meditative pose. Fortunately, his lack of ability to bend the other elements doesn’t seem to have affected his spiritual connections, because Katara’s eyes turn that unearthly shade of blue-white, and his wife’s body enters that eerie stillness that signals a meditating Avatar.</p><p>Zuko pinches the bridge of his nose, before looking back at Katara. She’s dropped her element-ball, and is patting her now flat chest with a look of irritation. Gray eyes glare at him. “This is so uncomfortable”.</p><p>He tries to give her a smile. “At least you haven’t had to go to the washroom yet, right?”</p><p>Her skin turns paler than freshly-fallen snow, and he grimaces. <em>Shit.</em></p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Good old body-swap... and Katsumi is the name of Zuko and Katara's daughter, just in case that wasn't clear, because that's kind of my favourite name for their firstborn child whenever I actually write a child for them? Lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. fairy tale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, so I'm kind of cheating with this one.  This is a ficlet that's already posted to one of my other collections, <em>in any universe</em>, but I have fixed it up a bit since then, edited some stuff, so yeah!  Mostly because, I honestly couldn't think of anything else for this prompt- plus I really rather loved this ficlet, so I figured, why not edit it a bit more, and then just repost it?</p><p>It is my Tangled AU, in which I basically took <em>that</em> scene from Tangled, and rewrote it with Zutara! But the dialogue isn't mine, and I also don't own Tangled, and uh, whatever other disclaimer is necessary? I don't really know, lol.  </p><p>Either way, if you've already read this, I hope you like reading it again! If you haven't read it... &gt;:D</p><p>Edit: Ok, I've replaced the old version in <em>in any universe</em>, so now this is all that remains.  Lol.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara wakes up because her ear is on fire.</p><p>Not <em>literally,</em> but it’s definitely very hot; she’s certain that there are flames next to it. She shrieks, rubbing her ear as best she can against her shirt, before turning to look for the source.</p><p>There’s a tiny, red, dragon flying next to her shoulder, staring at her.</p><p>She stares back at the creature in shock; dragons are a bit of rarity around the kingdom these days. Maybe it’s possible for her to keep it? Or, even better- sell it?</p><p>She’s so lost in contemplating the dragon that she almost misses the fact that <em>oh,</em> she’s been tied up.</p><p>She struggles, trying to move her arms and legs, but they’ve been very firmly fastened to a rickety old chair, with… “Is this… hair?”</p><p>It certainly <em>feels</em> like hair; thousands of silky black strands are wrapped around her arms, her stomach, her… well, everything, really. It’s… longer than hair <em>should</em> be, though, and her confused brain tries to follow the trail; what, in the name of Yue, is happening? All that she remembers is running from the guards, climbing the hidden tower and then <em>nothing;</em> something had hit her, hard, and now she’s here.</p><p>The hair smells sort of nice, though. Like moonpeaches.</p><p>Her internal musing is interrupted by a low, raspy voice coming from above her. “Struggling… struggling is pointless!”</p><p>She blinks, more confused than ever. “Huh?” She tries to peer into the shadows of the tower beams above her, but well, it’s <em>shadowed;</em> she can’t make out anything except a blurry figure.</p><p>The person (at least, she <em>thinks</em> that it’s a person) drops down from the rafters, into <em>more</em> shadows, (<em>so</em> helpful), and keeps talking. “I know why you’re here, and I’m not afraid of you”.</p><p>Ok, now she’s <em>really</em> confused. “What?”</p><p>(She should really stop speaking in monosyllables; she’s normally much more quick-witted than this.)</p><p>But then the person (it’s definitely a person) walks out of the shadows- and <em>oh,</em> sweet Yue, that is <em>perfection.</em></p><p>Broad shoulders, barely covered by a red tunic and strong arms that are holding a frying-pan, for some reason. A very firm body, that she kind of wants to run her hands all over. He’s (well, she thinks that it’s a man, at least) got a well-defined jaw, with delicate aristocratic features framed by long, luscious black hair.</p><p>(Her distracted brain vaguely notes that <em>oh,</em> this is where the hair is coming from!)</p><p>There’s also a scar on the left side of his face, but it doesn’t detract from his overall beauty, and <em>Tui,</em> the eyes. They’re a piercing gold, and she thinks that she could maybe look at them forever, and <em>oh,</em> he’s speaking again, she should probably pay attention. She blinks. “Uh-huh?”</p><p>The man’s eyes narrow, and <em>well,</em> that just accents his perfect, pouting lips. “Who are you, and how did you find me?”</p><p><em>Sprits, she wonders if his jaw is as</em>- focus. She’s still tied up, in a tower, after all, and this man does not look happy. “I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say” -she <em>subtly</em> flips her hair over her shoulder- “Hey. How’re you doing?”</p><p>The man stares blankly at her.</p><p>Hmm, <em>alright,</em> this is not the normal reaction. Clearly, she should keep going.</p><p>“The name’s Lady. Painted Lady. How’s your day going?” For good measure, she throws in a wink.</p><p>The man gives a slightly slow blink and <em>yes,</em> she’s got him, but then he shakes himself and <em>spirits,</em> the frying-pan is now pointed directly at her face. “Who else knows my location, <em>Painted Lady</em>?”</p><p>The words are said with such sarcasm that she feels a little pissed, now. “Alright, Goldie”.</p><p>“Zuko!”</p><p>“Gesundheit. Here’s the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting through the forest. I came across your tower, and-” oh, spirits, she’d almost forgotten about the prince’s crown! “Oh, oh no. Where is my satchel?!”</p><p>Goldie crosses his arms over his (incredibly well-muscled) chest and smirks at her, smugly. “I’ve hidden it. Somewhere you’ll <em>never</em> find it”.</p><p>She looks around the tower; it’s tiny, and Goldie is looking way too pleased with himself. “It’s in that pot, isn’t it?”</p><p>Okay, she <em>probably</em> should have seen the whack with the frying-pan coming.</p><p>______________________________</p><p>When she wakes up, it’s because the dragon has blown flames next to her ear, <em>again.</em> “Gah! Would you stop that?”</p><p>The lizard <em>smirks</em> at her, she <em>swears</em> that it does, and flies over to land on Goldie’s shoulder. Goldie grins at her, looking ever-so full of himself, and she’d be swooning if she wasn’t getting very annoyed. The man cocks a hip. “Now, it’s hidden where you’ll never find it. So,” -and the accompanying hair-flip is very distracting- “what do you want with my hair? To cut it?”</p><p>She’s almost shocked out of her annoyance. “What? No!”</p><p>“Sell it?”</p><p>“No!” She tries to ignore the frying-pan that’s in her face, <em>again</em> (it hits surprisingly hard) and starts talking, <em>anything</em> to convince this gorgeous lunatic. “Listen, Goldie. The only thing I want to do with your hair, is to get out of it! Literally!”</p><p>(Though that part’s not <em>entirely</em> true, but sue her; it really does smell <em>heavenly.)</em></p><p>The man looks a little nonplussed, at that; he stops his circling. “Wait… you don’t want my hair?”</p><p>This is just such a <em>strange</em> thing to say that it snaps her out of her subtle sniffing. “Why on Earth would I want your hair? Look, I was being chased, I saw your tower, I climbed it. End of story”.</p><p>“You’re…telling the truth?” Honey-gold eyes widen, and dammit, the lizard flies off the man’s shoulder and comes to land on the frying-pan that’s <em>still</em> in her face. It stares at her, and she <em>swears</em> that it’s assessing her, but- <em>it’s a dragon?</em></p><p>(<em>They’re not that smart, right?</em>)</p><p>Eventually, it flies back over to the man’s shoulder and well, she can’t help feeling as though she’s fallen short of some test that she didn’t know she was taking.</p><p>Goldie tucks the frying-pan under his arm and starts <em>conversing</em> with the dragon. She doesn’t really know what’s happening anymore, and as hot as this guy is, he’s clearly also a little crazy. Plus, she needs to get the crown, and get out of here; the faster that she sells that thing, the faster she gets rich. So, she starts trying to subtly maneuver the chair away.</p><p>Of <em>course,</em> Goldie looks up almost immediately. “Okay, Painted Lady. I am prepared to offer you a deal”.</p><p>“Deal?” She’s the <em>Painted Lady</em>, she doesn’t make deals with people. She robs them for all they’re worth and leaves with a smile and a wink. But the man starts walking, pulling her along with his hair (and she’s only now beginning to question how such long hair is even <em>possible,</em> which really says something about her mental state-) and she finds herself flat on her face.</p><p>“Do you know what these are?”</p><p><em>Spirits,</em> her face hurts, and she hopes to Yue that her nose isn’t broken, but she manages to look up from where she’s uncomfortably pressed against the ground, <em>still</em> tied to a chair. Goldie is on a ledge, pointing at a surprisingly well-done painting. The scene that it depicts is instantly recognizable, to her consternation. “You mean the lantern thing they do for the prince?”</p><p>Goldie looks <em>enchanted;</em> his eyes light up and he mutters something that she can’t hear.</p><p>But, she doesn’t have time to be amazed by how happy he looks, because he clears his throat and points the frying-pan at her again. “Well, tomorrow evening, they will light the night sky with these lanterns. You will act as my guide, and take me to these lanterns, and return me home safely. Then, and <em>only</em> then, will I return your satchel to you. That is my deal”.</p><p>She pushes herself up off the ground as much as she can; she’s been letting Goldie make all the decisions for <em>way</em> too long now; it’s time that she took her own back. “Yeeaaah. No can do. Unfortunately, the Fire Nation and I aren’t exactly <em>simpatico</em> at the moment, so I won’t be taking you anywhere”.</p><p>Honey-gold eyes narrow, and- she can’t help it, she’s a little turned on.</p><p>The man jumps down from the ledge (Tui, those <em>thighs)</em> and marches over to her, pulling her up from her very undignified position. “Something brought you here, <em>Painted Lady</em>. Call it what you will; fate, destiny-”</p><p>She rolls her eyes and mutters sarcastically “An ostrich-horse”.</p><p>(She hopes to <em>Yue</em> that she’ll never see the damn creature again.)</p><p>Goldie continues as if she hasn’t spoken. “So, I have made the decision, to trust you”.</p><p>“A horrible decision, really”.</p><p>“But trust <em>me,</em> when I tell you this”. There’s a yank, and suddenly she’s being held up by one of those (glorious) arms, staring into intense, narrowed golden eyes. “You can tear this tower apart brick-by-brick, but without my help, you will <em>never</em> find your precious satchel”.</p><p>As strange (sexy) as this situation is, the tower isn’t <em>that</em> big, honestly, and she has never let herself be taken down by a man before. “Let me just get this straight. I take you to see the lanterns, bring you back home, and you’ll give me back my satchel?”</p><p>A sharp nod. “I promise”.</p><p>She narrows her eyes; she isn’t buying it.</p><p>If anything, his look gets even more intense. “And when I promise something, I never, <em>ever</em> break that promise. On my honor”. The dragon also nods at her, from where it’s sitting on Goldie’s shoulder.</p><p><em>Nope,</em> still not buying it.</p><p>Evidently, it’s time for her to break out her most powerful weapon. “Alright, listen. I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Here comes the smolder”.</p><p>She breathes in, widens her eyes, angles her head so that her neck is on full display, and makes sure that her lips look as kissable as possible. It’s a look that’s never failed to work on a man before; even Jet fell for her, and she doubts that Goldie’s any different.</p><p>“This is kind of an off day for me; this doesn’t normally happen”.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Seriously, <em>nothing.</em></p><p>If anything, Goldie looks <em>confused</em> and <em>okay,</em> she’s a little hurt right now, but she recognizes when she’s been beaten. He’s obviously not going to just let her go, so she’ll just have to play along until she can one-up him. “Fine! I’ll take you to see the lanterns!”</p><p>The man gives a delighted gasp. “Really?”</p><p>She’d appreciate his enthusiasm for life, which is something that she hasn’t seen in a while, except that she’s suddenly flat on her face, <em>again.</em> “You broke my smolder!”</p><p>She has absolutely no idea what she’s gotten herself into, but she can’t deny that she’s curious to see where this all leads. And, if she gets her satchel back, it’ll all be worth it.</p><p>(Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Goldie’s ass is clearly a <em>gift.</em>)</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I love Tangled so much more than is probably healthy.  Also, in case I need to clarify, the dragon is Druk, lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. aurora australis</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a continuation of chapter 13, <em>folk-tale</em>.  It’s a very fluffy little universe, lol.  </p><p>And, I know that the prompt title is, technically, aurora borealis.  But those are the <em>northern</em> lights.  My ficlet is taking place in the South Pole, so the technical term for the southern lights is aurora australis.  So, that is why my chapter title isn’t the same as the prompt title, because otherwise that tiny little detail would just bug me for infinity.  I’ve already had one extensive argument with myself earlier today over it, and I’m still not sure if I won or lost.  Oh well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s Zuko’s first time being out of the Fire Nation, and he’s incredibly nervous.</p><p>After all, part of having grown up in a fully isolated country means that as much as other nations can’t get in, they themselves also can’t get <em>out.</em></p><p>But, even despite his nerves, he’s also very excited. Not just because he’s finally, <em>finally</em> going to see for himself all the other countries that his mother would tell him about as a child, but also- he’s going to get to see Katara again.</p><p>Ever since he first met her at his coronation, a year ago, they’ve kept in touch- letters, little gifts. And even though he hasn’t told her, yet, he knows that he’s fallen hopelessly in love.</p><p>She’s just so- <em>Katara.</em> How can he <em>not</em> love her?</p><p>But now, he thinks, he’s going to tell her that. As a part of his worldwide diplomatic tour, the very first stop is the Southern Water Tribe. And- well, he’s not sure how much time that they’ll have alone together, but he intends to make every second count.</p><p>His boat ride seems to drag on forever- but eventually, the air gets colder, and horizon grows paler, and – they’re there.</p><p>He’s <em>here,</em> in the Southern Water Tribe, and it’s- <em>Agni.</em></p><p>It’s so <em>white.</em> He knows what snow is, intellectually, and Katara had made some for him, when she’d been in the Fire Nation a year ago, but- there’s so <em>much</em> of it. The Fire Nation is a series of tropical, volcanic islands- this country full of ice, and snow, and an almost eerie stillness, is so foreign, to him.</p><p>His breath catches, and it feels as though he can’t breathe properly; everything is just so <em>different.</em></p><p>But then the boat docks, and he finds himself being led into this strange land, and- she’s here.</p><p>Katara is <em>here,</em> with her parents and her brother and the rest of the diplomatic party from the Tribe that’s waiting to greet him. Her lips are pulled into a wide smile, and blue eyes are sparkling as she throws herself at him in a hug, and even though this is the farthest away from home that he’s ever been, it feels-</p><p>It feels like something in his chest has unlocked, and he can breathe again.</p><p>Everything that happens afterwards is a bit of a whirlwind. There’s a series of long, necessary greetings, and then he’s given a short tour of the Tribe (except that it’s really a rather long tour, because much of the Southern Water Tribe is an enormous sprawling city made mostly of ice), and then there’s a welcoming dinner.</p><p>The food, like everything else here, is far different than what he’s used to. It’s much saltier, for one thing, and the spice palette is significantly more limited- but it’s still good.</p><p>The one downside is that he must maintain a sense of dignified respect, as the ruler of a visiting nation (if Azula were here, she’d be laughing at him- but his sister is taking care of the Fire Nation while he’s away), so, he doesn’t get to just bask in Katara’s presence as much as he’d like to.</p><p>But that’s alright, because eventually, all the necessary formalities come to an end. She finds him as he’s making his way to his assigned quarters for the night and takes him by the hand, laughter on her face.</p><p>He follows her, willingly, out on to the ice fields in the starry night. She brings with them blankets and a bottle of something called ice-berry-wine; he doesn’t know where they’re going, but with her, it doesn’t matter.</p><p>She doesn’t stop until the twinkling lights of the city are at least a good half-mile away; then, she spreads the blankets out on the ground before them, takes a seat, and holds out a hand.</p><p>He quirks an eyebrow and accepts her hand, taking a seat. But at this point, he’s just about curious enough to finally ask her what’s happening; he opens his mouth.</p><p>A mitten-wrapped hand covers his lips, and ocean-blue eyes ask him to <em>trust her</em>.</p><p>And the answer, of course, is <em>yes;</em> so, he leans against her on the blanket and waits, unsure of what they’re doing but willing to accept it anyways.</p><p>But, they’re only waiting in silence for about five minutes, before <em>it</em> happens.</p><p>He doesn’t know <em>how</em> to describe it, only that it’s utterly ethereal. The closest thing that he’s ever seen to it in the Fire Nation was when Uncle took him to visit a dragon-cave on his thirteenth birthday, where the ancient Sun Warrior Peoples reside, and he saw dragon fire. But <em>this</em> is-</p><p>He’s never seen the sky <em>dance,</em> before.</p><p>A hand nudges his own, and he turns. Katara’s not looking at the majesty above them; instead, she’s looking at him.</p><p>He’s feeling very bold, suddenly, as though all his nerves have evaporated, been swept away by the beauty above and in front of him. So, he leans forward, and presses his forehead against hers.</p><p>Her inhale of breath is sharp, but she doesn’t make any motion to move away, so that they’re both breathing in the same air and silently asking themselves the same question, hoping for the same answer.</p><p>She’s the one who makes the first move, then- her lips come up and ever-so-softly, brush against his.</p><p>He forgets what happens for a while, after that- his brain loses itself in the motions of learning what her mouth feels like when it’s pressed against his, what her tongue feels like entwined with his own.</p><p>But eventually, though, they pull apart- smiling at each other. And Katara cracks open the ice-berry-wine, takes a sip, and then kisses him again- her mouth is even sweeter, and he feels like he could drown in the sensations.</p><p>They stay out there for as long as they can; talking, in a way that they haven’t been able to properly do since their first meeting, drinking the wine, and generally just enjoying each other’s presence. He should be tired, he knows, but being with her, like this, after so long, gives him enough energy that he feels he could maybe fight an army.</p><p>But, he’s calm, too- it’s like being in one of the Fire Nation’s summer storms. Wild, beautiful, invigorating, dangerous- and yet, soothing. Refreshing.</p><p>And above them, the heavens continue to dance.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. blood moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I realized, when I was thinking about this prompt, that I somewhat wrote myself into a corner lol, because I already wrote about a lunar eclipse in the <em>eclipse</em> prompt for Chapter 17.  So, this is not quite a continuation of that, but it's basically the same scene as that one, just from Katara's perspective instead of Zuko's.  Because the only other thing that I could think of was vampires and werewolves and that was just... yeah, not happening. I suppose that I could also have tried something with blood bending, but that didn't make much sense to me, since a water bender generally needs a full moon to bend blood, and a blood moon is an eclipsed moon? And I was too tired to explore any further possibilities. So... have this instead *presents the offering and flees*</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She’s dreading the approaching hour, when the moon will turn red.</p><p>And she <em>shouldn’t,</em> she knows, because she’ll be fine. This isn’t like the North Pole, all those years ago, when the moon died and her sister tribe was invaded, and she was powerless. There’s no one coming to attack her, not here, not in the safety of their palace.</p><p>But, she can’t help the terror, anyways, the bone-deep sense of <em>wrong;</em> because after all, her waterbending will still be gone, won’t it?</p><p>She tries to keep up a brave face, but the closer the deadline draws, the more that she feels her nerves start to spike.</p><p>But, before she can truly send herself into a spiral of panic, she feels a warm hand take hers, leading her to the royal chambers.</p><p>Her husband smiles at her, golden eyes bright and inviting, and pulls her against his chest on their bed, wrapping her in silken sheets and whispered promises. And her nerves don’t vanish, not quite, but they abate significantly- because after years of being with each other, he sometimes knows her better than she knows herself.</p><p>So, she presses her face against his neck and tries to breathe him in, focus only on him, even as the clock runs out and the moon turns blood-red.</p><p>He kisses her forehead, runs his fingers through her hair, and murmurs soft words that aren’t quite enough to fully distract her from the feeling of <em>wrong,</em> but are enough to keep her reassured that when she falls, he will be there.</p><p>When the moon finally turns pale again, when the sky lightens, neither of them bothers to move for a while.</p><p>Bending or not, she knows that she’s safe, right here with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. after the rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ok so… I don’t quite know what I did here.  Again.  But all I could think of was the pirates?  So… have a somewhat OOC discussion on Zuko tying Katara to the tree. And Zuko's general evil-ness (or lack thereof).</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You know… I think I’ve come to a sort of clarity”.</p><p>Zuko raises an eyebrow at her; Katara’s sprawled next to him against the steps of his family’s home on Ember Island, staring up at the lightening sky. “Go on”.</p><p>She shrugs, still looking up. “I’ve been thinking a lot about you, recently. About how you were before you joined us, and how you are now”.</p><p>He hopes that his sudden trepidation isn’t visible on his face. “U- Oh?”</p><p>Clearly, though, <em>something</em> comes through, and she turns to face him. “Not like that! It’s just… for such a long time, I thought you were one of the worst people imaginable”.</p><p>He huffs a broken-sounding laugh. “You probably weren’t wrong”.</p><p>“But I was”. Katara sucks in a breath, the scent of freshly-fallen rain still thick. “In the grand scheme of things… you were nowhere near the worst thing that could have happened to us. In fact, you might actually have been the best”.</p><p>He chokes on nothing, staring at her with wide eyes. “Excuse me?”</p><p>She smirks at his misfortune, but keeps going. “The Fire Nation was always going to be after us, as soon as it became clear that Aang was alive. In terms of the people who could have been sent after us, you were the best option. You never really wanted to hurt us”.</p><p>He shakes his head; he’s grateful, that she doesn’t think as badly of him as she has before, but that doesn’t change the fact that his actions can’t be easily excused. “Katara, I have hurt a lot of-”</p><p>“I know”. She shrugs. “I’m not denying that. But you never really wanted to hurt anyone, did you?”</p><p>He swallows thickly, staring up at the clearing rainclouds. “No. All I wanted was Aang. But I was willing to hurt a lot of people to get to him”.</p><p>“True”. She nods at him. “But you never actively sought out to harm other people, unless they were in your way, and even then, you were mostly harmless. Like that time, you tied me to a tree”.</p><p>He groans. “I really am sorry about that-”</p><p>“I know you are. But that wasn’t what I meant, really”.</p><p>He nods at her; a silent gesture to <em>go on</em>.</p><p>“I mean… that could have gone a lot worse for me, if you hadn’t been there”.</p><p>Zuko raises a skeptical eyebrow. “I taunted you with your mother’s necklace”.</p><p>She reaches her hand up to touch the pendant at her throat. “I know. But I mean, about the pirates. If you hadn’t been there, I’d probably be a lot worse off than just having been tied to a tree”.</p><p>He coughs and rubs the back of his neck. “Well-”</p><p>“Because they would have come after me even without you, wouldn’t they?” She turns to look at him, blue eyes discerning. “I took something that they had <em>no</em> right to have, but they wouldn’t have cared about that, and they’d have come after me. And if they’d caught me, by myself, without you there to tie me to a tree…”</p><p>He shivers involuntarily; she’s not wrong. Pirates aren’t known for being merciful, and especially not to young women. But, he’s not sure he gets the point of this. “Okay, but that doesn’t make what I did alright, either. What are you trying to say?”</p><p>She sighs. “That you were never truly evil, Zuko, and you’ve more than made up for all the bad things you have done to us, by now”. She doesn’t look away. “Do you think I haven’t noticed? For as awful as I was to you when you first joined us, your worst critic is yourself. Even now, you try so hard… You know that I’ve, that we’ve <em>all</em> forgiven you, right?”</p><p>“Yeah…” His voice isn’t as confident as he’d like; he <em>does</em> know, but sometimes it’s still hard for him to believe.</p><p>She reaches out her hand then, lays it gently on top of his own. “I think, Zuko, that you also need to learn to forgive <em>yourself”.</em></p><p>He stares at her- but he’s not sure what to say, because she’s <em>right,</em> isn’t she?</p><p>He <em>hasn’t</em> forgiven himself.</p><p>But- how does he- how <em>can</em> he even begin to do so, when he still doesn’t know what Uncle thinks of him, when there’s still so much that needs to be done before the comet, when-</p><p>Katara breaks him out of his spiraling thoughts, using both her hands to frame his face. She’s the only one who’s ever touched him like this, after his face had been scarred. “You’re not who you were, Zuko. I can’t imagine what it might be like but… do you think you can at least try?”</p><p>He closes his eyes and leans into her touch, breathing in the scent of the recent rain. But his voice doesn’t feel like cooperating anymore; so, he nods.</p><p>When he opens his eyes, above them the sun has broken through the clouds.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>This might possibly be an unpopular opinion, but I honestly think that Zuko taking Katara prisoner in the water bending scroll episode was literally the best thing that could have happened to her.  </p><p>I mean, look at it this way.  She stole.  From <em>pirates</em>.  </p><p>With or without Zuko, they were going to go after her.  If they'd caught her all by herself, without anyone there to mediate... she's a young girl with (at that time) little to no defence.  I don't <em>want</em> to know what they would have done.  If Zuko'd been there, but hadn't actually cared, same thing- would have been bad.  But Zuko was there, and even though what he did do was a dick move it was... in my honest opinion, the least of three evils.  </p><p>I don't know why I felt the need to rant about this, lol.  Oh well.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. you're in love with her</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm not feeling well, so... have this short little drabble.  Ugh.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“-and that’s why I think I’m dying. What do you think?”</p><p>Toph wonders if it would be appropriate to laugh. Zuko’s voice is panicked, and his breaths are coming fast. It’s taking all that she can just to keep her face straight. She clears her throat. “Let me get this straight, Sparky. Every time you’re around Katara, you get an increased heart rate, a dry tongue, sweaty palms, and you can’t focus on anything but her?”</p><p>There’s a rush of air that signifies her adoptive big brother has thrown his hands up. “This isn’t normal! I don’t know what’s wrong!”</p><p>She can’t hold it in, anymore then, doubling over and laughing at him. She ignores his indignant sputters and walks away, needing to sit down. “Sparky, you’re a riot”.</p><p>“This isn’t funny, Toph!”</p><p>“Mm, I think it is”. She grins in his direction. “Tell me when you figure out what’s wrong with you, okay? I’ll be waiting”.</p><p>“Toph!”</p><p>This is going to be the perfect story to tell at their wedding, she thinks, doubling over cackling again.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. forced to share a hotel room</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Why is this prompt so specific?... still not feeling great, so have another short one, sorry!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko opens the door, looks around the room, and then looks back at her with a raised eyebrow. “Do you think we should tell him?”</p><p>Katara gives him a wicked smirk. “Why bother? Let him think what he wants.”</p><p>Her boyfriend rolls his eyes, but gives her a smile. “You’re evil”.</p><p>She finishes lugging the last of her bags into the single hotel room, with its single bed. “It’s not my fault that we’ve been dating for seven months, and Sokka’s the only one who hasn’t picked up on it yet.”</p><p>He crinkles his nose, even as he moves to help her with the last of his bags. “I don’t know how to feel about the fact that your brother’s trying to set us up”.</p><p>She shrugs, drops her bags, and throws herself into the soft springiness of the hotel bed, looking back at him. “Ever since Suki beat some sense into him, he’s been a lot less sexist. This is him trying, I guess”. She pats the bed next to her, and tilts her head. “But enough about my brother. Aren’t you going to join me?”</p><p>His eyes darken, and he smirks at her. “Careful. We only have an hour to ourselves on this vacation, before we have to go meet up with the others for dinner”.</p><p>“I know”. She raises an eyebrow. “So, let’s make the most of them, shall we?”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>The Gaang goes on vacation, modern AU.  No, I don't know where or why.  I'm not feeling well enough to think of things like <em>setting</em> right now, lol.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. rainstorm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>His wife is always beautiful, but watching her like this is something…</p><p>Zuko’s never quite had the words to describe it.</p><p>The Fire Nation is the only part of the world that has a monsoon season. The only place where the heavens break open, and scream their fury in such a heartbreaking, awe-inspiring, majestic way. The wind howls, the skies darken, and the rain pours for days on end, soaking the land and giving life to the crops, to the people.</p><p>One thing that the rest of the world has never understood about them; they may be proud, with all of fire's arrogance<em>,</em> but they do know to appreciate the other elements, even if they rarely admit it.</p><p>And it’s here, in this land of fire, that Zuko sees Katara fully in her element.</p><p>Which is, perhaps, a strange thing to note; there’s a reason that the people of the Water Tribes live near the poles, after all. But life at the poles is different; they may be constantly surrounded by water, but it’s rare there, for their element to simply go wild, like this.</p><p>But here, in the Fire Nation’s monsoon season, Katara comes alive in a way that he’s never seen elsewhere. She stands out in the palace courtyard and <em>bends,</em> in an amazing display of power.</p><p>She stops the rains. She turns the droplets to ice. She makes shapes, swirls, sculptures. It’s playful, and endlessly fascinating, and <em>beautiful.</em></p><p>And every time he watches her, Zuko falls just a tiny bit more in love.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. heartbeat</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She doesn’t even notice it at first, really.</p><p>After all, she may be a healer, but she spends more time working on other bodies than her own. And it’s quite faint, really; she brushes it off.</p><p>But then, she runs her water-gloved hands over her stomach again. Pauses, frowns-</p><p>
  <em>Oh, Tui.</em>
</p><p>Her startled gasp is enough to bring her husband to her side; Zuko comes to stand in the doorway of their washroom, shirtless and peering down at her. “Are you alright?</p><p>She gestures him over, hardly daring to believe it. “Come feel this.”</p><p>He arches an eyebrow, even as he moves to comply. “My love, I’m not a waterbender”.</p><p>“I know that! Just-” she places his hand over hers in the water, guiding them over her stomach. At first, it’s faint again, but then- “Do you feel that?”</p><p>He furrows his brow. “I- yeah, I think so. What is-”</p><p>She sees the exact moment that he realizes, sees his face start to war with too many emotions; hope, fear, pride, love, curiosity, awe.</p><p>It takes him a few moments until he remembers how to speak again. “Do you mean that you’re-”</p><p>“I think so”. She cups his face with her free hand, brings his forehead to press against hers. “I’m a healer, Zuko, and I know bodies. That- that’s a heartbeat, but it’s not mine. I- think I’m <em>pregnant”.</em></p><p>His eyes are wide, searching her own. “Do you- are you-”</p><p>“Yes, I’m happy!” And she <em>is,</em> because she’s wanted to be a mother for so long now, even though she knows that it will be hard, that so much could go wrong, but- “Are you-”</p><p>“Agni, my love, <em>yes”.</em> He kisses her then, and she leans into it, because words aren’t quite enough to express what she’s sure that they’re both feeling right now; this strange combination of fear, joy, pride, and amazement.</p><p>Three hearts beat in sync; and the world seems just a tiny bit brighter.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*coughs* okay so… I know that heartbeats are generally not how pregnancies get discovered but… in my defense, we’re never really given a set limit for waterbending healing in the show? Like, Katara can bring Aang back from the brink of a lightning wound with Spirit water, but Zuko’s fine with normal water, and Zuko’s wound also takes much less time to heal for some reason, and I have no idea what the boundaries are??  So, yup.  Heartbeats.  Through the water.  Which Zuko can feel too.  Because I said so.  </p><p>(the author flees the scene.)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. ancient</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Katara stifles a laugh, but <em>barely,</em> even as Zuko gets into bed and turns to her with an affronted look in his eyes. “Earlier, did you hear-”</p><p>She smirks at him. “Sure did, old man”.</p><p>“But- Katara, I’m thirty-eight! Why does- that’s not ancient! How could my own daughter call me-”?</p><p>She can’t help it, then- she doubles over laughing. His glare towards her intensifies, and she waves a hand. “Sorry, love! You just- <em>pffttt,</em> you sound like Uncle! And he is getting pretty old.”</p><p>His mouth drops open.</p><p>She puffs up her chest and tries to make her voice deeper. “Ah, nephew. How could a member of my own family say something so-”?</p><p>She can’t finish the sentence, then, curling in on herself again and howling, even as her husband pouts at her from the other side of their bed. When she’s done, though, golden eyes have narrowed, considering. “If I’m ancient, <em>darling,</em> what does that make you? You’re only two years younger than me”.</p><p>
  <em>Excuse him-</em>
</p><p>She stares at him, as his subtle smirk widens, then picks up one of their silk pillows and aims directly for his stomach. But Zuko is fast, and he dodges. They devolve in a rather inelegant struggle on the bed, with flying pillows and tangled sheets and-</p><p>In the end, she’s sitting on his hips and he’s holding her arms behind her, and somehow they've ended up kissing; so, she’s not entirely sure who’s won, but at that point-</p><p><em>Well,</em> the matter's all but forgotten, anyways.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>No pillows were harmed in the making of this drabble, lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. crown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Fire Sages are not happy with him.</p><p>Things have remained a certain way for centuries, after all, and one thing that the Sages are fond of is tradition. What he wants to do will change what has been done for hundreds of years, and the Sages are set in their ways.</p><p>But he persists, and well- in the end, they cannot refuse him.</p><p>The day dawns with brilliant clarity, though he’s a bundle of nerves. But, that’s understandable.</p><p>After all, it’s his wedding day.</p><p>Everything is a blur of bright colors and loud celebrations; his family and friends are all there, of course, but he finds that he can’t pay much attention to anything except beautiful, sea-blue eyes. He can’t believe that he’s <em>here;</em> that he gets to marry her, after everything that they’ve been through, together; everything that they've done.</p><p>And eventually, the vows are said, and he thinks that he may have cried, just a little, but- that’s it. They’re husband and wife, and <em>Agni,</em> he couldn’t be happier.</p><p>And then, immediately after, comes the time for his brand-new <em>wife</em> to be crowned as the Fire Lady.</p><p>This is the first time that such a thing has happened in centuries; that a waterbender has been crowned as the partner of the ruling monarch.</p><p>When the crown itself is brought out, displayed on a silken purple pillow, the excitement of the crowd hushes, and well- he <em>does</em> know why.</p><p>After all; this is no longer the typical partner crown of the Fire Lord’s.</p><p>Instead of the flame-pointed crown, he’s designed a new one. The old crown has been melted down into a six-pronged, swirling golden sun. Cut out of the center of the sun is a perfect crescent moon, encircling a single, inlaid pearl, from the oyster-mussels of the Southern Water Tribe.</p><p>He spent hours, coming up with the simple design himself.</p><p>The whispers coming from the crowd start up again, but he can’t focus on that; only on Katara.</p><p>(This is a surprise for <em>her</em>; no one else.)</p><p>She looks at the crown, taking in every curve, every point; when she looks back at him, her eyes are shining. She whispers, so that no one else can hear: <em>thank you</em>.</p><p>After that, everything is quick; the Fire Sages place the crown on her head, and she is presented to the people; their people, and the people of the world.</p><p>He comes to stand beside her, and takes her hand, draws her to him. She comes willingly, and he kisses her softly; a peck of lips that carries on for a little infinity.</p><p>When they draw back, the cheers of the crowd are enormous; the dawn of a new era has come.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that's it for me this Zutara Month! Thanks to everyone who's read this, it means a lot to me, and I really hope that you enjoyed &lt;3!!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading!!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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